Lipofilling (fat grafting)

Lipofilling or fat grafting is a procedure in which fat cells removed from one part of your body are grafted into another area that requires increased volume. Lipofilling is a form of fat grafting, which involves transferring fat from your own body to enlarge or reshape the breasts by modifying the volume, shape, consistency and profile of tissues.

Lipofilling is a new breast reconstruction technique recommended for improving defects, symmetry, volume and refinement of soft tissues after breast reconstruction. It can also be used for the correction of scars and whole breast reconstruction.

The lipofilling procedure is performed under local or general anaesthesia. The donor site is first identified and marked – usually abdomen, thighs or buttocks. Fat is aspirated out of the donor site and centrifuged to separate the fat cells from other fluids. This processed fat is re-injected into the breast muscles and fatty layers through fine cannulas. These are injected in such a way that blood supply is easily available for their survival.

As with any surgery, lipofilling may involve certain risks and complications such as fat shrinkage, bruising, bleeding, unwanted skin changes and infection.