Has anyone had micro fat grafting?

mtks:  The Picture Forum part that is UniSex is for maybe for a handful of people and men do NOT have access to the women's recon picture section!!!  Many women use a different name there then on here, to ensure their privacy (though it isn't necessary) and the face is never included with the pictures.  Since the women are screened by a a few people before ever gaining access, I can assure you it is very private.  There isn't any way I would have ver shared my pictures if it wasn't.  I don't even undress in a room full of women let alone on a public forum. 

mtks- The "compression garments" I've been wearing are things like Spanx that you can buy at just about any department store.  You just want to make sure they're tight enough.  I also wanted to chime in about Alloderm.  Dr. Khouri is really against it and feels it's totally unnecessary if you're using fat grafting.  He said you can get the same results by using the patient's own fat and it is less expensive with less chance of infection.  That being said my first PS did use fat grafting twice- when she placed the TE and at exchange.  I still had issues that have been completely resolved using fat grafting.

pinkbutterfly- Just wanted to let you know that I just did the fat grafting with Dr. Khouri and he basically let me choose where I wanted the fat taken from.  I told him my first choice was my stomach since that is the hardest area to lose from.  When he told me there wasn't enough there he also took some from my hips (love handles!) and my inner thighs.  If you have any questions there is a link on Dr. Khouri's website (miamibreastcenter.com) where you can email him directly.  It sometimes takes several days for him to get back to you since he's so busy but he will write back.   

vhshea- Yes, I did exactly what leeinfl did with her first procedure.  Dr. K took out my 375 implants and put in 225.  Then he did fat grafting over the top of the implants taking fat from my stomach, hips and thighs.  Since I don't want to end up very large he said with 2 more procedures he could get me to a point where I would no longer have any implants.  The breasts would be created just with fat grafting.  Not sure yet if I'm going to do that or not.  I'm pretty happy with what has been done with this one procedure.

Kate- I know I ask a lot of ? but I can't seem to get answers from my ps!

OK- when I have my NIPPLE-AREOLA-FG (3 weeks!!!!!) I want to be prepared at home so I dont have to shop after.

1-I need to buy spanx for the lipo area. This I will wear for 3 wks?

2-what are you wearing now for a bra? Cami? sportbra?

3-My ps uses the sewn on cylinder, are you familiar with it?

 Thanks for your help. It is so appreciated!

pinkbutterfly - I only used one Brava dome for about 4 days (24/7) just before my first surgery.  This was to pull out the indentation I had on the lower medial side of my right breast.   It worked like a charm!  That area was so tightly adhered but the Brava made it "squishy" giving Dr. Khouri the room he needed to inject the fat successfully.  The Brava does EXTERNALLY what the TEs do INTERNALLY, expand the area to make room for the fat grafting.  Are you fully expanded with the TEs?  It certainly seems that you might be able to do the same as Kate and I had done. 

The stem cells that are grafted are not from the breast -  you are getting tissue from your hips, tummy, etc placed where your breast tissue used to be.  I asked my oncologist about this too and she confirmed that this is NOT breast tissue so I don't have to worry about anything.  She was very excited about this and fully supported me.  She loves the way my breasts look too!  I went under for every fat grafting procedure and I honestly couldn't image being awake for it. 

Remember, you can email Dr. Khouri - sometimes he emails back within hours but other times it might take a day or so, but he will answer!  You can send him photos too - just try to get a front view and then a side view from each side.

Hope this is helpful.

Lee

Thanks leeinfl. That sounds promising. I am not fully expanded yet, but I imagine that, if it could work, I'd rather wait for that. I called and spoke to Rosie. she was very helpful and said she would research my questions and get back to me. Dr. K is out of the country for a few wks. I'll certainly share what she comes back with.

How much sensation would you say you got back? 25%? 50%? more? Less? Sorry to be so nosy, just want to know what to expect. Also, how long did it take to come back?

pinkbutterfly - I definitely had to use Brava since I haven't had any implants or expanders.  I'm sure your situation will be different.  

Technically speaking you can graft fat without Brava, it's done all the time with cosmetic plastic surgery such as on the face, but with breasts you need a larger volume of fat and in a situation like mine where you are starting from flat, the amount of fat that can be put in and subsequently retained is directly proportional to the amount of expansion you achieve in advance.  I don't think there is any concern of fat stem cells turning into breast cells.  Stem cells require specific stimulation to tell them what type of cell to be and when, and there seems to be nothing going on physiologically as an adult to trigger them to be breast cells. I hope that helps.

pinkbutteryfly - I'd say I have at least 60% back.  It's hard to put a number on it - I had the implants where I felt nothing and now I feel temperature changes, the wind, pain - yes, I can pinch myself and feel it!  Feeling comes back very gradually.  It takes time.  I felt a tingling sensation around the 2 month mark after the fat graftings.  Almost like they were "waking" up?  So hard to explain...but quite amazing!

I can't wait for yours and Kate's to "wake up"!! 

60% is amazing! I can imagine that it might even improve with time.

Was wondering if anybody who had nipple construction with Dr. Khouri might want to share their comments. Is he particularly good at that, or does his expertise lie just in the fat grafting?

So excited for all of you that has or had Dr. K as their DR.!!!!

Wish there were more of them.

Thanks Kate for listening and your help.. And yes, My Dr. unfortunately does not

do the FG like Dr. K I can only pray for great results.

ok - so the 'waking up' reminds me of that old movie, cocoon.   but i do have a question.  i stupidly started running prior to my DX and now have not a lot of body fat - how thin were you all that had the fat grafting?  i am no where near without fat, but my rolls are definitely gone... how much do they need to lipo out for breasts to warm them up after implants??

lol - kate33 - i was wondering if you lost weight what would happen to your grafted breasts ... makes total sense.. i do not know if my PS does fat grafting but i suspect he does - he does a lot of the other cutting edge work - and is in Dallas' Best Doctors list so I will definitely ask at the consult on the first of June - the cold foob thing was really worrying me and the implant/grafting option sounds like the best of both worlds... ugh!  I truly do not know what I would do without these forums... hearing from you all that have been there and really, truly get it is invaluable....  and wow - at the tender age of 51 I will finally fill out!

Where are you guys looking to see the nipple cylinder? is there photos with somebody who used it somewhere?

Mantra- Wow!  That would be amazing!  So hope they're right about that!  The stomach is the hardest place to lose, at least for me, so when Dr. K ask what area I wanted him to use that was my first pick!