Anyone who has had fat-grafting, I have some questions...

So how much fat do they take from the donor site?

had my fat grafting surgery a little over a month ago. Other than bruising and swelling that lasted approximately 2 weeks, it's been a walk in the park. No denting, no dimpling.

Just wondering.....did any of you share with friends and coworkers that you were having fat grafting? If so did you get lots of offers to donate fat? I thought that was so funny, how many people made that same joke. (And yes I laughed every time).

Hi Weety! I , myself am having fat grafting done to add to my right breast for fullness. I am also having the implants replaced with better implants to reduce the swelling. I am quite nervous and don’t know what to expect. Did the doctor say that after he does the fat grafting that you most likely won’t have to go back in for more?

I had fat grafting done at the time of my exchange surgery (7 weeks ago yesterday). My PS took 1 liter from my stomach and flanks and he transferred only 70 cc. I have no dents and I don't look deformed. I did have LOTS of bruising and soreness.

Ideally the surgeon takes only what is needed, keeping in mind the possible need for another round or more. Mine saved my abdomen just for that reason. Not sure at this point if I'll need it or not. And no, I don't believe fat can be saved for later.

I had fat grafting done in Jan, my PS took from my waist, back and right under my arms. He took about 275 from each side, then used only 70 to" fill" in around my expanders. He didn't touch my tummy, in July this year he will do the exchange and do more grafting at that time. Said he would take from my thighs and leg area. So far I like the results, and yes i can tell what he did. I took beyond and after pictures. I've showed a could people and they can tell.

Anyone want to see pictures? I could crop out the "dirty" parts

The dents can be fixed! They go in with a tool to loosen the fat around the dents and then roll what looks like a surgical rolling pin over the loosened fat to move it to the dented areas. Once done they cover with a compression dressing and you're good to go! There are YouTube videos that show the procedure.

weety, I have no idea about insurance coverage. I have a dent on my right outer thigh and one on my abdomen from the second round of grafting. The first time went splendidly. I will be seeing my PS in May and will see what she says.

In my case, I am not terribly bothered by my dents, but then again I haven't worn shorts or a swimsuit with them yet. Let us know what you learn.

weety - I had fat-grafting in Dec. 2017 to fill in divots left after DIEP and to plump up the DIEP breast so it was closer in size to my other one. The fat was taken from the "spare tire" area at my waist and from inner thighs. What surprised me was how painful the waist area was for months afterward. I had to pad my hips and waist with surgical pads for months, and it's still sensitive to pressure from clothing.

The donor areas at my waist still swell up by the end of the day. I didn't get a compression garment (just bike shorts and compression undies) and wasn't real faithful at keeping the abdominal binder on, so the fact that I'm still getting swelling may be partly my fault. The PS didn't touch the inner thigh fat higher up near my pubis, so my thighs bulge slightly above the donor area. In fact, I got flagged at an airport by the TSA X-ray machine for suspicious bulges at both my thighs and waist and had to get patted down! I sure hope that doesn't last indefinitely, as I travel quite a bit for work.

Whether your PS will fix bulges probably depends what kind of insurance you have and where you get it done. I have Kaiser HMO, and although they are great at keeping you alive, they don't seem real concerned with getting perfect cosmetic results.

JaneSheridan - I don't know if I could have gone back to work a few days after fat grafting. I scheduled it right before a 1-week Xmas break at work, and was pretty sore most of that time. But I never needed narcotic pain-killers, and getting in and out of cars was no problem although very uncomfortable.

I'm in the Bay Area - Santa Clara Kaiser. They have a breast cancer center and the PS are supposedly also cosmetic surgeons, but attention to detail doesn't seem to be their strong point. That said, I'm OK with how it looks. My PS did offer to do a second round of fat grafting if I want, as most of the divot fat didn't last, but I will have to think long and hard whether I want to go through it again.

Hello! Anyone have experience with fat grafting after radiation? Three weeks ago, I had round 2 of fat grafting to breast after lumpectomy. My lumpectomy and treatment was in 2004, so it's been a while :-) The reason it took so long for reconstruction is I couldn't find a reputable PS willing to work with my radiated tissue.

I finally found a reputable PS, and the results after round 1 of fat graft (done in Sept 2017) were amazing! I had a significant divot in breast after the lumpectomy, and the divot had gotten much worse over the last couple of years, (I was a C cup and an A cup) but after round 1 of graft, "gnarly girl" was full and looking good!

After round 2 of graft (3 weeks ago), not so impressed. The divot had started to reform as my body reabsorbed some of the grafted fat from round 1 and also had some fat necrosis. PS says the reason round 2 wasn't so successful is due to all the scar tissue from the old lumpectomy, but what doesn't make sense is how he was able to get the fullness first time around if the old scar tissue is the reason for less fullness in round 2.

Just curious if any of you who've had fat graft had it after radiation? I'll probably have round 3 fat graft sometime this summer.

Thanks!!

Hey: I had fat grafted to my radiated skin. I had mastectomy though in 2004 with radiation.

I started reconstruction last May. The PS first did fat grafting to plump up the skin on the radiated side before tissue expander and implants. I had two rounds of fat grafting from my inner and outer thighs and abdomen. The implants were put in 8 weeks ago, and so far everything looks great.

I really don't know if the fat was resorbed or not. But, I did have a smaller implant inserted on the fat grafted side than on the other side. ( I had another mastectomy last March so this prompted the reconstruction). The surgeon said it was because of the fat grafting padding. To look even I didn't need the same size implants on both sides.

wallan