Home › What Is the Success Rate of Fat Transfer Breast Augmentation?

What Is the Success Rate of Fat Transfer Breast Augmentation?

by Dr. Nicholas Lahar

When most people look at fat transfer breast augmentation before and after photos, they can’t believe the “after” pictures aren’t with implants. It’s an amazing procedure that produces amazingly natural results.

While this procedure can’t increase the size of your breasts two or three cup sizes, fat grafting can definitely achieve a modest size increase and improve imperfections such as dimpling, uneven breasts, or a lack of upper pole fullness.

Regarding the success rate of fat grafting, a systematic review published in PubMed found that average volume retention across clinical studies ranges from 44% to 83%, with an overall average of approximately 58%. This means the majority of transferred fat survives and integrates into the breast tissue long-term.

In essence, this gives fat transfer breast augmentation a meaningful, clinically documented success rate for aesthetic volume outcomes. Importantly, the same review found that after one year of follow-up, patient satisfaction averaged 92%. This figure reflects how well these results translate to real-world outcomes.

Of course, there are other ways in which this procedure may be considered a “success”. But overall, when patients want to know about the surgery’s success rate, they are really asking how likely it is that the fat they have transferred will survive.

The fat survival range that gets quoted in consultations is real. It’s directly tied to how the procedure is performed, how gently the fat is handled, how it’s processed, and where it’s injected. In our practice, meticulous technique at every stage of the process is what moves patients toward the higher end of that range.
– Dr. Lahar

Contents

1 Understanding the success rate of Fat Transfer Breast Augmentation
2 Does fat transfer to breasts last?
3 Is Breast Augmentation with fat transfer risky?
4 Schedule a consultation with Dr. Nicholas Lahar
5 FAQ
6 References

Understanding the success rate of Fat Transfer Breast Augmentation

The success rate of fat transfer breast augmentation can often be determined before the patient undergoes surgery. That is, Dr. Lahar will usually be able to tell the patient whether or not they will have a high fat survival rate after their surgery.

Ultimately, whether or not the transferred fat survives in its new location in the breasts depends on several factors. Most importantly, it depends on how much fat the patient has to begin with.

As an example, let’s consider a woman who is extremely athletic. Women with athletic bodies tend not to have very much excess fat on their abdomens, upper arms, thighs, or buttocks. Therefore, it can be difficult to harvest fat for liposuction for this procedure.

You need to have enough excess fat that can then be transferred to the breasts. However, in athletic patients, while modest adjustments can be made with fat grafting, there may be an overall lower fat survival rate.

Let’s contrast this with someone who has a significant amount of excess fat. Perhaps they have fat in their belly, flanks, and hips that they would like to have removed and relocated to the breasts. In these patients, the fat survival rate is likely to be higher simply because more fat can be transferred.

An institutional review published in PMC/PubMed found that fat retention rates for breast augmentation specifically range from 47% to 65% across studies. Patients receiving higher volumes of injected fat tended to experience greater total volume retention overall.

Of course, other factors — such as how well the patient adheres to her recovery instructions and how skilled the surgeon is — will also play a role in the success rate of fat transfer breast augmentation.

Does fat transfer to breasts last?

If the fat transfer process is performed well and the fat is handled gently throughout the procedure, there is a high likelihood that the fat will survive in the breasts. When this happens, the results of the entire procedure should last indefinitely.

In other words, when the fat “takes” in its new location, a breast fat transfer 1 year later will look just as it did a few months after surgery. The fat will remain and thrive in the breasts just as if it were always there.

A long-term outcomes study published in PMC/PubMed following patients five years post-procedure found that 92.86% of women reported no longer feeling disturbed by the appearance of their breasts. This is compared to 50% who found the sight of their breasts disturbing before surgery.

Is Breast Augmentation with fat transfer risky?

Overall, breast augmentation with fat transfer is not an especially risky surgery. However, all surgeries come with potential complications such as the risk of infection, complications with anesthesia, excessive bleeding, and more.

With fat transfer procedures, in particular, there is also the risk of fat necrosis (the death of fat cells) and fat reabsorption (the reabsorption of fat cells by the body).

According to a systematic review published in PubMed, the overall complication rate for autologous fat grafting in breast augmentation is approximately 27.8%, with fat necrosis accounting for the majority of reported complications. Most of which are manageable and do not affect the long-term aesthetic result.

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.

The complication data in the literature reflect a broad range of surgical settings and technique levels. In our practice, we use fat-processing and injection protocols to minimize the risk of fat necrosis. It’s one of the areas where surgical experience makes a real difference in patient outcomes.
– Dr. Lahar

Schedule a consultation with Dr. Nicholas Lahar

Fat transfer breast augmentation has a high success rate overall, and the rate gets even better when you choose an experienced plastic surgeon for your procedure.

Nicholas Lahar, MD, is an experienced plastic surgeon who specializes in fat grafting. His attention to detail, friendly manner, and extensive skills and knowledge make him the ideal professional to assist you with your breast augmentation with fat transfer.

To learn more about this surgery and find out if you’d be a good candidate, contact Lahar Plastic Surgery today and book an appointment with Dr. Lahar.

FAQ

What does a breast fat transfer after 5 years look like?

When a patient can maintain a healthy lifestyle and a steady body weight, the results of their breast fat transfer procedure should look just as good after five years as they did right after the procedure.

How long does fat augmentation last?

The results of breast augmentation fat transfer should last for many years. As long as the fat cells survive the initial transfer, they will act just as all other fat cells in your body and will remain indefinitely.

How many cup sizes can you gain with fat transfer?

Most of the time, fat transfer breast augmentation can help you go up one half to one full cup size.

What are the cons of fat transfer breast augmentation?

One downside is that you can only increase the size of your breasts by a half cup to a full cup with breast augmentation fat transfer, whereas you can go up two or more cup sizes with implants.

Another potential issue occurs if you don’t have enough excess fat on your body to fulfill the liposuction portion of the procedure.

Breast fat transfer vs implants: Which is better?

It depends on your goals and preferences. Many people want to augment the size of their breasts, but they are uncomfortable with the idea of having implants. This may be because implants are foreign bodies, they can rupture, they usually require regular testing to ensure they are intact, etc.

On the other hand, breast implants can achieve more significant results when compared with breast augmentation with fat transfer.

Is breast augmentation fat transfer worth it?

Yes, based on most breast fat transfer reviews and discussions with past patients, people who’ve undergone fat transfer breast augmentation generally say they are happy with their results and are glad they underwent the procedure.

What are the fat transfer breast augmentation risks?

The main risks during and after fat transfer breast augmentation include fat necrosis (the death of fat cells), fat reabsorption (the reabsorption of fat cells by the body), infection, excessive bleeding, and other risks associated with all procedures that involve incisions.