Fat transfer to the breast. I think it is the future. (for those with enough fat to donate from one area to another.) so why am I not doing it yet?
Calcifications.
What is that? What does it mean? Why does it matter? Can you speak in English please?
Breasts are made of fat. When a cancer occurs in the breast it frequently causes calcifications in a cluster pattern. This is what mammograms are looking for. Breast cancer is common. It is a big deal, so monitoring for it is important.
So when we move fat to the breast for a cosmetic augmentation, we are relying on the fat to get a new blood supply in the new location. If it doesn’t, it may melt away or it may calcify.
A study came out in the April 2011 Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery journal looking at 48 patients who had breast augmentation using fat. “Clinical analyses of clustered micro calcifications after autologous fat injection for breast augmentation.” 8 of those 48 patients had clustered microcalcifications on digital mammography. Due to this, they all had biopsies. None were cancer. Their conclusion? You cannot tell the difference between malignant calcifactions and those due to fat grafting.
This is a big deal. Imagine you are the woman who has to live through the abnormal mammogram…..the phone call….the biopsy….the waiting. Is it cancer? Is it not?
I do think there are techniques which help minimize fat loss when you transfer it. Micro fat grafting, the brava system, etc. This team did small amounts at a time. They did serial surgeries. They spun the fat to help it separate These all should help the fat take, live, which should reduce calcifications.
But 17% of their patients had concerning clusters of calcifications which required a biopsy. That is too high.
Beware of all the early adopters of this new fat grafting. The doctors I did my course with have studied and refined their approach over years. All of them use brava to “prep” the breast to make it more receptive to fat. This has cut down on oil cysts and calcifications. And even more importantly, it makes sense to me. I will have their letter in response to this study in my next blog.
Don’t go to a surgeon who cuts corners on this. The easy way to do fat grafting to the breast may lead you to stress down the road. And if your surgeon does not discuss these issues with you before surgery, be wary. Surgeons with integrity and honesty are important and hard to find.
