Why More Women are Replacing Breast Implants with Fat Grafting and a Breast Lift

Posted September 11, 2024 in Breast Augmentation, Breast Implants, Breast Lift, Breast Sagging, Fat Grafting

By Dr. Chris Patronella

One of the more common things that I’m seeing in my practice today is women who are more inclined to step away from breast implants—the traditional method of breast augmentation. Many women, as they get older, decide that their priority is feeling better and feeling more comfortable. Oftentimes, there is the sense that the breasts are too large when your in your 50s as compared to when you were in your 30s. Many have sagging that has occurred with childbearing, and they now want smaller, perkier breasts.

Not infrequently, women also are concerned about the long-term requirement for continued maintenance of implants. So a very common approach now is to remove breast implants, do a breast lift, and replace volume using fat grafting—that is, using a woman’s own fat by removing from a convenient place that is troublesome such as the waist area, then harvesting that fat through liposuction and using it for fat grafting.

We can’t get as much volume with fat as we can with implants. Generally speaking, about one cup size is what one should expect for the overall volume enhancement of the breasts with fat grafting. But it does eliminate the need for long-term maintenance of breast implants. It lightens the overall breast because typically implants are larger than one cup size. And it becomes a very common and satisfactory solution for many patients who are interested in having smaller, perkier breasts.

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