If you’re thinking about breast augmentation, traditional silicone implants are probably the first thing you think of. But, they’re no longer the only way to increase breast volume. The question is; implants vs fat transfer?
Fat transfer breast augmentation, sometimes called fat grafting, lipomodelling or lipofilling, uses fat taken from another area of your body and carefully injects it into the breasts. For some patients, it can provide a more subtle increase in volume, without the need for implants.
So, implants vs fat transfer; which is better?
The honest answer to implants vs fat transfer is that neither is truly “better”. The right option always comes down to what suits the patient, depending on your breast size, your desired result, your body shape, how much additional volume you want, and your personal view on implants and future surgery.
Understanding the differences can help you have a more open discussion with your surgeon.
What is breast augmentation?
Breast augmentation is a cosmetic surgical procedure designed to increase breast size and improve breast shape and proportion.
Traditionally, this is achieved using breast implants, usually filled with silicone gel. Implants can increase breast volume considerably and can also be used to alter shape and projection of the breasts.
Fat transfers takes a different approach. Fat is removed from another part of the body using liposuction processed and then injected into the breast.
Fat transfer may be suitable for some patients, although it is not appropriate for everyone and may require more than one procedure to achieve the desired result. At Sunion Health, we will always have an honest conversation with you, and what procedure is best for you.
How do breast implants work?
Breast implants are placed underneath the breast tissue, or depending on your anatomy or surgical plan, beneath the chest muscle. Implants come in different sizes, shapes and profiles, allowing your surgeon to select an option that is appropriate for your proportions and desired outcome.
Silicone gel implants are most commonly used because they provide a relatively natural feel and are available in a wide range of shapes and sizes.
One of the biggest advantages of implants is predictability. Your surgeon can select a specific implant volume, giving you greater control over the amount of additional breast volume, compared with fat transfer.
With breast implants, you can’t order a particular cup size. Your final result will depend on a range of factors including your existing breast tissue, skin, chest, shape, implant dimensions and placement.
Benefits of Breast Implants
Implants vs fat transfer may be particularly suitable if you want a noticeable increase in breast size or a more significant change in shape and projection.
Potential advantages include:
- A predictable increase in breast volume
- A wide choice of implant sizes and shapes
- The ability to achieve greater augmentation than fat transfer alone in many patients
- The option to address differences in breast size
- The ability to create more upper-pole fullness and projection
For someone looking to move several bra sizes larger, implants vs fat transfer may therefore provide a more straightforward route to the desired result.
What is fat transfer breast augmentation?
Fat transfer breast augmentation uses your own fat rather than an implant.
The procedure usually involves removing fat from an area where you have sufficient excess tissue, such as your abdomen, thighs or flanks. The fat is then processed before being injected into specific areas of the breast.
This can provide both breast enhancement and some degree of contouring where the fat has been removed.
The important distinction is that fat transfer isn’t simply “liposuction plus bigger breasts”. The transferred fat has to establish a blood supply in its new location, and not all of the transferred fat necessarily survives.
This means the final increase in volume can be less predictable than with an implant.
Fat transfer often requires more than one episode of surgery.
Benefits of fat transfer
For the right patient, fat transfer can offer several appealing advantages:
- Uses your own tissue rather an implant
- Can provide a softer, natural-feeling result
- Can subtly improve breast shape
- May improve contour in the area from which fat is removed
- Avoids implant-specific complications such as capsular contracture and implant rupture
- Can be used alongside implants in some procedures
It can therefore be particularly appealing to someone who wants a relatively subtle enhancement rather than a dramatic increase in breast size.
What’s the difference between implants and fat transfer?
When it comes to the question of implants vs fat transfer, simply put, implants provide volume directly, fat transfer uses your body’s own fat to create additional volume.
That difference affects almost everything from the potential size increase to the recovery process and long-term considerations.
Which gives a more natural result?
This is one of the most common questions patients ask, but “natural” can mean different things.
Some people mean that they want the breasts to look natural. Others mean they want them to feel natural. Others simply want to avoid an obviously augmented appearance.
Fat transfer uses your own tissue, so it can provide a very natural feel. It can also be useful for adding smaller amounts of volume and improving the transition between the breast and surrounding tissue.
Implants, meanwhile, can also produce natural-looking results, when appropriately selected and positioned. Your surgeon will consider your existing breast tissue, skin coverage, chest shape and proportions when planning the procedure.
Implant size is very important here. Larger implants, particularly in patients with limited natural breast tissue, can be more visible or palpable beneath the skin.
So the question on implants vs fat transfer isn’t “implants or fat for the most natural result?”, it’s a case of which technique is capable of producing the most natural result for your anatomy and goals.
How much bigger can breasts become with fat transfer?
This is where fat transfer has a significant limitation.
There is only so much fat that can be safely transferred and retained by the breasts. You also need sufficient donor fat elsewhere on your body.
If you want a relatively modest increase, fat transfer may be capable of producing the result you’re looking for.
If you want a substantial increase in breast size, implants are generally capable of providing a greater and more predictable increase in volume.
Fat transfer may also require more than one treatment to build up the desired volume, so your desired outcome is one of the most important considerations when choosing between the two procedures.
What are the risks of breast implants vs fat transfer?
Breast augmentation is surgery, and both techniques carry minor, but important to note, risks.
With implants, potential complications include bleeding, infection, changes in breast or nipple sensation, implant rupture and capsular contracture.
Capsular contracture occurs when the scar tissue that naturally forms around an implant becomes unusually tight, potentially making the breast feel firmer or altering its appearance. Noticeable capsular contracture can occur in up to one in ten breast augmentations, although most patients with this problem do not necessarily require revision surgery.
Breast implants are also not considered lifetime devices. The longer implants are in place, the greater the possibility of complications that may require additional surgery, although there is no fixed point at which every implant needs to be replaced.
These risks don’t necessarily mean implants are unsuitable. They do mean that anyone considering them should understand the long-term commitment involved.
What are the risks of fat transfer vs implants?
Fat transfer avoids implant-specific complications, but it isn’t risk-free.
Some of the transferred fat may not survive, meaning the final result can differ from the initial appearance. Fat can also develop areas of fat necrosis, where fat cells die and form firm areas within the breast.
There are also risks associated with liposuction and the surgery itself, including bleeding, infection, swelling, bruising and changes in sensation. These risks are minor, but important to know before making a commitment.
Importantly, fat transfer does not mean that breast screening becomes unnecessary. Your surgeon can advise you about breast awareness and any imaging requirements following surgery.
Can you combine implants and fat transfer?
In some patients, implants and fat transfer can be used together.
This approach can be useful where an implant provides the main increase in volume, while smaller amounts of fat are used to soften contours or improve the transition between the implant and natural breast tissue.
The combination can be particularly useful when a patient wants more volume than fat transfer alone can provide but also wants to refine the appearance of the augmentation.
Whether this is appropriate depends on your individual anatomy and surgical plan.
Implants vs fat transfer: which option is right for me?
There isn’t a simple checklist that can determine the answer.
Implants may be more appropriate if:
- You want a significant increase in breast size
- You want a predictable increase in volume
- You have limited excess body fat available for transfer
- You want more projection or upper-breast fullness
- You’re comfortable having an implant
Fat transfer may be more appropriate if:
- You want a relatively subtle enhancement
- You have sufficient donor fat
- You prefer to use your own tissue
- You want to avoid an implant
- You would also benefit from liposuction and body contouring
- You’re comfortable with the possibility that more than one procedure may be required
For some patients, neither option will be ideal on its own.
The importance of your consultation
The best breast augmentation isn’t necessarily the procedure that produces the largest breasts, rather the one that produces an outcome that works with your body, your expectations and your long-term plans.
During a consultation, your surgeon should assess your breast shape and volume, skin quality, chest dimensions and overall proportions. They’ll also discuss what you want to change and what you consider to be a successful result.
BAPRAS recommends a cooling-off period of at least two weeks before breast augmentation, with the opportunity for further consultation before surgery.
That is worth taking seriously, cosmetic surgery is something you should never feel pressured into deciding on during a single consultation.
Should I choose implants or fat transfer?
Breast implants and fat transfer can both increase breast volume, but they achieve it in fundamentally different ways. It’s not necessarily a case of implants vs fat transfer, it’s a case of what you prefer.
Implants offer greater control over volume and can produce a more substantial augmentation. Fat transfer offers a more tissue-based approach, potentially providing a subtle enhancement while also allowing fat to be removed from another area of the body.
Neither is automatically the better procedure.
The most appropriate choice depends on your anatomy, the amount of volume you want, your available donor fat, your expectations and how you feel about having an implant.
A consultation with a suitably qualified plastic surgeon is the best way to determine which approach is right for you, and to help you choose the procedure that makes sense for your body and the result you’re trying to achieve.
