Quatela Center for Plastic Surgery
973 East Avenue
Rochester, NY 14607
Phone: (585) 244-1000
Fax: (585) 271-4786
Monday–Friday: 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
Breast augmentation with fat transfer offers a natural, implant-free method of improving breast volume and shape. This procedure uses liposuction to obtain fat from your own body, usually from your thighs, buttocks, stomach, or other donor sites. These fat cells or adipose tissue is then re-injected into the desired areas of the breast to improve shape and contour. The technique uses very small incisions that are typically not visible after healing is complete. Fat transfer offers a natural alternative to traditional implants and can be a great way to enhance breast tissue for those who prefer to use their own tissue. Fat grafting is not a replacement for a breast implant, but can give a more subtle increase in volume and improvement in the shape of the upper breast and cleavage that is very rewarding for some patients.
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Dr. Ashley N. Amalfi is a board-certified plastic surgeon who specializes in cosmetic surgery of the breast and body. With her experience and innate attention to detail, Dr. Amalfi achieves personalized surgical outcomes that help patients look and feel their best.
In addition, your surgeon discusses any limitations for the breast augmentation with fat transfer procedure, including risks and potential complications. If breast augmentation with fat transfer is right for you, your surgeon creates a customized surgical plan. Before the consultation is finished, a Patient Consultant meets with you to discuss cost, payment options, and scheduling the procedure.
Dr. Amalfi or Dr. Krasniak meets with you in a private consultation and reviews your medical history, including past medical conditions, current allergies and medications as well as your personal and family history of breast cancer and any other breast issues. Your surgeon performs a brief examination and discusses your current breast size and listens to your desired changes and cosmetic goals.
Any woman who is looking for a natural, minimally invasive breast augmentation may be a good candidate for this procedure. Breast augmentation with fat transfer can also help restore breast volume that is lost during pregnancy and breastfeeding or due to aging. An ideal breast augmentation with fat transfer patient is:
Your surgeon can help determine if breast augmentation with fat transfer is the right procedure to meet your desired cosmetic goals.
Once your breast augmentation has been scheduled, there are a few things that you can do to prepare for the surgery and recovery period. By preparing several days in advance of your surgery, you can be assured of the best results and a smooth recovery.
If you are a smoker, it’s also important that you commit to stop smoking at least eight weeks prior to your breast augmentation with fat transfer procedure.
Our plastic surgeons review a variety of factors to ensure plastic surgery is a safe choice for you.
Breast augmentation with fat transfer involves gentle liposuction of areas with available fat stores — such as the buttocks, thighs, flanks or stomach. Small, less than ¼ inch incisions are made to introduce the fat into the breast area. Fat is carefully injected into the breast in small tunnels to ensure the grafts survive and you have continued fullness from your fat transfer. Great care is taken in the operating room and during the postoperative period so that the best aesthetic result is achieved and to ensure that most of the fat cells survive.
Patients should expect recovery from breast augmentation with fat transfer to take about two to three weeks. By that point, most patients are feeling well with minimal pain and are back at work. Breast swelling after fat grafting to the breast may persist for many months; your final result and the amount of fat that has survived the fat transfer will be obvious at six months.
Bruising and swelling at the liposuction sites may occur at first and typically resolves in the next two to three weeks. Our surgeons recommend wearing compression garments over the liposuction sites for the first six weeks to minimize swelling. Discomfort in the treatment site can persist for many months, especially with exercise and physical activity.
Light exercise and walking can be resumed after a day. More strenuous exercise and heavy lifting should be avoided for three weeks following the procedure. By six weeks the patient has no restrictions.
Little to no discomfort is expected at the injection sites on the breast tissue. A sports bra can be worn in the weeks following the procedure. Any tight garments or activities causing pressure to be applied to the chest area should be avoided for several weeks following the procedure.
You should be able to return to work two to five days after your breast augmentation with fat transfer procedure. If your job requires heavy lifting you should plan to take additional time to rest before returning to work.
There are few risks for breast augmentation with fat transfer. Some infrequent complications include loss of some of the transferred fat causing small, firm lumps in the breasts, termed fat necrosis. These areas usually resolve with gentle massage over a period of 6 months to a year. Other complications include infection and cyst formation.
The recovery time for breast augmentation with fat transfer is usually shorter than for breast augmentation with implants and is largely dependent on the liposuction aspect of the procedure. Patients can expect to be back at work about one to three weeks after the procedure.
As a destination practice offering world-class care, the Quatela Center attracts patients from around the globe. Our virtual consultations and support program take the effort out of travelling for surgery.
Light exercise such as walking is encouraged after the procedure as it helps with circulation. You should abstain from more strenuous exercise for three weeks.
The benefits of breast augmentation with fat transfer include:
Breast augmentation with natural fat should not affect the ability to breastfeed.
Some patients just don’t have enough fat to transfer into their breasts for an augmentation. Gaining weight is not helpful because patients generally go back to their preoperative weight after the procedure, and the transferred fat cells shrink in size with the weight loss. This decreases the size of the augmented breasts. Before any aesthetic procedure, patients should be at an ideal, maintainable weight.
Yes, the breast augmentation with fat transfer will occur after the liposuction procedure to harvest the fat on the same day.
The cost of a breast augmentation with fat transfer varies, depending on your specific needs and goals. All prices quoted from the Quatela Center are all-inclusive and include pre and postoperative appointments, surgeon’s fees, surgery center fees, and anesthesia costs. For more information, see our page on Plastic Surgery Costs.
People who live in Buffalo, Syracuse, and other areas of New York travel to the Quatela Center for Plastic Surgery for breast augmentation with fat transfer surgery and other breast enhancement procedures. Request your consultation using the online form to meet personally with one of our breast enhancement plastic surgeons or give our office a call at (585) 244-1000 to schedule an appointment.
The Quatela Center for Plastic Surgery in Rochester is proud to serve patients from throughout Upstate NY. We are honored to be the area’s premier plastic surgery center, and give every patient our undivided attention and the quality of care they deserve. Learn more about how we support our New York patients on their surgical journeys:
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