Breast reconstruction

Compared to using fat grafts to sculpt a breast that’s been reconstructed through other methods, using fat grafts to reconstruct or augment a breast remains controversial. And even though fat grafting is slowly gaining acceptance within the medical profession, many cosmetic and plastic surgeons still won’t perform this surgery. These physicians argue that the procedure is not sufficiently reliable since fat injections have a high chance of being reabsorbed into the body or potentially calcifying into a hardened mass.

However, there’ve been great strides in fat grafting, such as a procedure in which an external tissue expander – called a Brava device – is worn for several weeks before and after the fat grafting. The Brava device is like a bra with plastic cones for cups. The cones put suction on the breast area to expand the tissue and create a matrix for the fat to live in. Wearing the Brava device seems to be important for the reconstructed breast to maintain its volume.

Depending on the size you would like your reconstructed breast to be, you may have to have multiple fat grafting procedures that are done over a period of 2 to 6 months. It’s also important to note that in many cases the fat injected into the breast area may be partly reabsorbed by the body over time and the breast may lose some volume. This is why some plastic surgeons initially may add more fat than you think you need.