Breast augmentation aims to enhance the size, shape, and appearance of the breasts using implants or fat grafting techniques. It’s basically enhancing or enlarging your breasts.
Breast implants, including saline and silicone options, have long been the go-to choice for achieving fuller breasts . However, fat grafting to the breasts has emerged as a natural alternative that utilizes your own body’s tissues for breast augmentation.
If you’re on a quest for fuller breasts, the choices are breast augmentation with implants or fat grafting with your own fat.
Understanding Breast Implants
Today, breast augmentation surgery with implants continues to evolve with advancements in implant technology, surgical techniques, and safety protocols. Modern silicone and saline implants are available in a variety of shapes, sizes, and textures to accommodate the diverse patient preferences and goals
If you are more leaning towards implants, you can further educate yourself by learning more about implants choices. Read Saline vs Silicone and explore the other considerations you will be discussing with your board certified plastic surgeon during a consultation.
Breast Implant Advantages
- High level of customization – various profiles (moderate, high profile, extra high profile) , sizes, and textures to achieve exactly the outcome you want
- Patients can achieve a significant increase in breast volume– up to 800cc per breast
- Breast implants from Mentor and Allergan now carry life time warranty for rupture. These companies will replace the implants at no charge.
Breast Implant Considerations & Limitations
The most common complications related to breast implant surgery are:
- Implant rupture / leakage
- Capsular contracture – where scar tissues forms around the implant
- Implant drop out
- Has limitations in correcting asymmetry
- Most patients either remove or replace the implants after 20 years. Note: There is no official guideline for timeline from the implant manufacturers, but this is what we have seen after 30 years of performing breast augmentation!
Fat Transfer Breast Augmentation
Since the 1990s, fat grafting has been used to improve or augment areas where the fat is injected. Also referred to as fat transfers, fat injections, or autologous fat grafting (afg), the history and applications may surprise you.
In recent years, fat grafting has been gaining popularity as an alternative or complementary technique for breast augmentation and lumpectomy reconstruction.
Fat transfer, also known as fat grafting or autologous fat grafting, involves the harvesting and transferring of fat to the breast . This can be done either unilateral to correct asymmetry, or bi-lateral (both breasts) to increase the size of the breast.
Fat transfer breast augmentation involves harvesting fat from one or more areas of the body using liposuction, processing it, and then injecting it into the breasts to enhance volume and shape.
Fat Transfer Advantages
- Using your own fat is natural way to augment your breast
- Procedure is less invasive in that it involves no tissue elevation or dissection
- Procedure does not require drains post operatively
- Dual benefits to enhance your figure – bigger breasts, and a lean thinner torso
Fat Transfer Considerations & Limitations
- You must have enough fat on your body — typically two areas (abdomen + flanks), but most surgeons can extract from multiple areas if necessary.
- Because the breast tissue is tighter than other areas of the body (such as the buttocks), only about 300 cc of fat can be transferred to each breast in one operative session. This equates to about one cup size up.
Comparing The Cost of Breast Augmentation with implants to Fat Transfer
Fat grafting to the breast is more expensive than a breast augmentation using implants. That may seem counter intuitive since you’re using your own fat, but you are really getting two procedures: breast augmentation and Lipo 360!
Plastic surgery costs are typically a function of time in the OR. It takes around 2 hours to perform an average breast implant augmentation procedure, while it takes around 5 hours to perform the fat grafting to the breast.
Cost comparison of Breast Augmenation with Fat Transfer to the Breast
- Breast augmentation with implants : $6,000 (silicone)
- Fat Transfer with your own fat (from two areas) : $10,000.-$11,500.
Making an Informed Decision of Breast Aug vs Fat Transfer
Your surgeon should be a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. You should be able to see before and after photos of previous patients. Be sure he has performed scores of the the procedure you are interested in.
Here is a summary comparison chart to help you decide between breast aug with implants or fat transfer to the breast :
| Breast Implants | Fat Grafting | |
| material | Silicone / Saline | Your Own Fat |
| size change | Significant size change is possible (up to 800cc per breast). | Minimal size change is possible (up to a cup). ~300 cc per breast, sometimes more |
| looks / feel | Silicone implants feel more natural than saline implants. The ‘look’ of a breast implant varies according to the profile/size of the implant. | Organic and natural- you determine what area of the breast you want fullness |
| asymmetry | Different size and profile implants can be selected in an attempt to correct asymmetry | Can be even more precise for correcting asymmetries, deformities, or scarring |
| predictability | More predictable results. | heavily dependent on the injection technique used by the surgeon |
| complications | Rippling, rupturing, capsular contracture | Cysts or breast hardness if procedure not performed correctly |
| body changes | Bigger breasts. | Bigger breasts *and* slimmer torso (lipo 360) |
| Surgery duration | 2 hours | 4-5 hours |
| cost | $5,200 – $6,000 | $10,000 – $11,500 est. |
