PROCEDURE DURATION: 1 hour
TYPE OF ANESTHESIA: Local with sedation
WHAT IS A LIPOFILLING?
Lipofilling for volumetric expansion of the breast is a reconstruction method devised to define certain areas of the body such as, for example, the udder. Through this technique, the fat is extracted from certain parts of the body (usually the thighs, hips or abdomen …) and, after appropriate treatment, the adipose tissue is infiltrated in the area that you want to make more definite. Since you are using your own cells, the fat used prevents the development of any type of allergy and provides a completely natural result.
WHO IS SUITABLE FOR THIS TREATMENT?
The autologous fat infiltration is also used to increase or adjust the volume of the breast and to improve the texture and appearance of the breast tissue compromised by iatrogenic events (radiation side effects, breast reconstruction with implants or expanders, etc.). It is used extensively to correct deformities consequent to Quadrantectomy of procedures for mammary tumor. It is very suitable to correct small deformities resulting from the breast reconstruction.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF THIS TREATMENT?
Breast reconstruction by lipofilling ensures considerable advantages:
• the results for fat injection are durable and permanent
• operation is cheaper than other breast enhancement methods
• It is impossible to develop allergies, because the fat used is autologous
• the method, natural and safe, leads to an equally natural result
PREOPERATIVE: HOW TO PREPARE TO SURGERY?
The examinations to be carried out in surgery prediction, necessary and indispensable, are a blood sample and an electrocardiogram. The Dr will also consider whether it is necessary the ultrasound of the breast.
As for medicines, it is recommended to avoid taking aspirin or anti-inflammatory drugs, since their ability to reduce blood clotting could cause complications.
HOW IS THE SURGERY?
The procedure, such as for a liposuction, plans to define an area of the body from which to take the fat through micro-cannulas. Usually the sampling areas are those where the adipose tissue is generally more compact, then the abdomen, thighs or hips. The fat taken will have to be filtered and purified. Then, it can be reinserted with thin cannulas, in the areas to be corrected. To obtain the desired correction, the surgeon can repeat this procedure several times.
In general, the surgery is performed in an outpatient regime.
POST SURGERY: WHAT TO DO AFTER SURGERY?
It is important to rest for at least a week after surgery. Although this is an operation that does not require a painful post-surgery, avoid physical efforts and sports for the first week. For those employed in work less strenuous, the work can be resumed as early as the next day after surgery.
In general, one can speak of adjustment, more or less definitive, of the volume of the breast, in a period comprised between 3 and 6 months. In the first month post-surgery breast volume may be increased due to edema, a result of the procedure.
The patient must monitor possible loss of weight: the weight-form must remain constant in the post-procedure because sudden weight-loss, may reduce the volume given by the grafted adipose tissue in the breast.
If you notice redness, possible though rare, in the lower quadrant of the breast, avoid sun exposure for at least 30 days from the surgery.
It is recommended to do, as early as the first week after surgery, lymphatic drainage massage in fat removal areas. The breasts should not suffer compressions or energetic massage for at least one month after surgery. Also to consider the possibility of repeating the procedure of lipofilling after 6-month/1-year, as the fat infiltrated may experience a process of resorption unquantifiable.