The Pros and Cons of Fat Transfer Breast Augmentation

Dr. Nicholas Lahar

Jun 11, 2026

Breast augmentation is one of the most popular types of plastic surgery. Women often want to have their breasts augmented with implants and possibly a breast lift to give them a younger look.

However, not every patient can or wants to have breast implants. In recent years, breast augmentation with fat transfer has grown more popular. This procedure involves using liposuction on the abdomen, legs, or sides and injecting the fat into the breasts.

This is an all-natural procedure that gives a woman a small increase in breast size without putting implants in the chest. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) affirms that fat transfer is a well-established alternative to implants and continues to grow in clinical adoption as techniques and patient selection have improved.

Are you considering fat transfer breast augmentation? Then it’s important to consider all the pros and cons listed below.

Contents

1 Pros
2 Cons
3 Request a fat transfer Breast Augmentation consultation
4 References

Pros

Fat transfer is natural

If you are leery of putting silicone or saline breast implants in your body, fat transfer breast augmentation may appeal to you.

The fat is removed from a body area that may be difficult to slim down, such as the belly. The fat is washed, processed, and injected into the breasts. The tissue is your own, so it cannot be rejected.

Some patients worry if a breast implant will rupture or leak into the body. While this doesn’t happen often, a damaged implant must be replaced, which necessitates more surgery.

Also, there are some long-term concerns about whether leaked silicone from an implant can have negative health effects.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) notes that the FDA has approved both silicone and saline implants as safe for use in breast augmentation. Fat transfer completely sidesteps these concerns by using only the patient’s own biological tissue.

Reshapes the body

Fat transfer breast augmentation removes fat from a trouble area that may be resistant to diet and exercise. Then, it’s injected into the breasts, so you get to improve the appearance of two or more parts of your body!

Say you have love handles that you cannot eliminate no matter how much you work out. The surgeon can suck that fat out, wash and process it, and put it into your breasts. You will look both slimmer and have larger breasts, which many patients love.

Subtle increase

Many women want a small size increase that isn’t obvious to most people. For example, the woman may be a management professional in a company and doesn’t want to walk in one day with much larger breasts.

Breast augmentation with fat transfer increases their size, but the effect is more subtle. This is more desirable for many working and older women. Not every patient wants the attention that much larger breasts can bring.

Little scarring

Fat is injected into the breasts with small incisions, so you don’t need to worry about significant scars.

On the other hand, larger incisions are needed to put breast implants in the chest. They are usually under the breasts and hard to see, but there’s no question that you will have more scars.

Rare complications

Fat transfer doesn’t come with any concerns about long-term risks with implants, such as leakage, rupture, and capsular contracture.

Also, breast implants usually need to be replaced every 10 or 15 years. But fat transfer breast augmentation can last forever, and you may not need another procedure.

A systematic review of autologous fat grafting for breast augmentation published in PubMed found that patient satisfaction at one year of follow-up averaged 92%, confirming consistently high outcomes in appropriately selected patients. The overall complication rate was approximately 27.8%, with fat necrosis making up the majority and most complications being manageable without long-term aesthetic impact.

The complication profile of fat transfer breast augmentation is very different from implant-based augmentation. We’re not dealing with capsular contracture, rupture, or implant exchange down the road. In the right patient, it truly is a once-and-done procedure.

-Dr. Lahar

Cons

This procedure has many benefits, but it is also worth thinking about the downsides:

Size increase is minimal

Fat transfer can only add about one cup size to your breasts. If you want more increase than that, you will need breast implants.

However, many fat transfer patients only want a slight increase anyway. Not every woman wants to have their breasts two or three times bigger than before.

Fat may be reabsorbed

When the fat is injected, the body will absorb a certain amount of it. This doesn’t cause harm, but you may wind up with a smaller increase than you want.

A clinical review of fat grafting techniques published in PMC/PubMed found that fat retention rates for breast augmentation range from 47% to 65% across studies. Careful harvesting, processing, and injection technique by an experienced surgeon are the most important factors in maximizing fat survival.

That’s why the surgeon will slightly overfill your breasts. So when some of the fat doesn’t survive, you will still get the increase you desire.

Fat death

Fat necrosis is also known as fat death. If some fat dies, it can leave painful lumps and an uneven appearance. This doesn’t usually happen, but it’s a known possible complication of all fat transfer procedures.

Fat necrosis is the complication we spend the most time on in consultation, because it’s the one patients are most unfamiliar with. In our practice, we use injection protocols to minimize this risk. The surgical technique at every stage directly determines how much fat survives.

-Dr. Lahar

No Breast Lift

If you have regular breast augmentation, you can have a breast lift simultaneously. But fat transfer breast surgery doesn’t give you the lifting effect.

Your breasts will continue to age and may sag as the years pass. And having implants can give you more of a lifting effect by itself without a separate breast lift.

More than one procedure site

Because fat transfer breast augmentation involves both liposuction and injections into the breasts, you’ll have at least two areas healing at once. This can mean more bruising, swelling, and soreness overall, and you’ll need to carefully follow aftercare instructions for both the donor sites and the breasts.

Fat transfer breast augmentation can be the ideal choice for many patients. When you have your breast augmentation consultation, talk to your surgeon about your goals and concerns. They can tell you whether regular breast augmentation or fat transfer is best.

Request a fat transfer Breast Augmentation consultation

Thinking about fat transfer breast augmentation in Beverly Hills? Dr. Nicholas Lahar is pleased to provide plastic surgery procedures to his Beverly Hills patients. He will discuss your aesthetic goals during your consultation and help you decide if you are a good candidate for this procedure.