What are advances in fat grafting in modern aesthetic surgery practice?

In our Marbella practice demand for natural breast augmentation with long lasting results and minimum or no scarring at all is very big.

We practice in a very body conscious environment, with very body conscious patients, who mostly embark on a very outdoor orientated lifestyle.

Use of fat for cosmetic procedures has been limited historically because transplanted fat has shown a tendency to re-absorb back into the body, making the increase in volume temporary.
If one reviews contemporary scientific literature, it seems that most publishers report results which are rather a lottery, rather than being in any form predictable.

However, cell-enriched cosmetic surgery harnesses and focuses your body’s own innate healing abilities.

Studies have shown that this helps the specially prepared graft tissue to fully incorporate into the transplant location, thereby increasing the chance of the graft taking.

According to current scientific literature, the most effective modality here is the Body Jet fat harvest procedure, which has originally been developed for effective large volume liposuction.
The technique does largely leave the harvested fatty tissue viable and maintains the viability of the stem cells naturally inherent to human adipose (fat )tissue.
The effectiveness and safety of the procedure is proven in very robust scientific literature and has been breakthrough in modern Plastic surgery technique.
We successfully apply Body Jet fat grafts for natural breast augmentation and buttock augmentation (brazilian butt lift). Take rates are documented to be consistenly around 80% making the procedure very predictable.

Should you require some more extensive information on this procedure, either in the Department of Plastic Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery at Hospital Quiron Malaga or in Cirumed Clinic Marbella please contact us.

Natural fat transfer breast augmentation-the Body Jet technique

For years, women have dreamt of having their breasts augmented using their own fat. The idea is to get rid of unwanted fat deposits and naturally augment breasts in the same session.

Prior attempts at autologous fat transfer to the breast have not proven to be constantly successful .
They were successful in some cases , but no so in others, in summary the results were very unpredictable.

New techniques in Natural Breast Augmentation employ the latest technologic advances in fat harvesting.
The principle of these techniques is that they “wash and filter” fat instead of “centrifugation”.

“Wash and filter “techniques are much better to handle and our current scientific data suggests that they also give superior results in fat transfer breast augmentation.
We believe that the less the fat is manipulated the higher the survival, provided of course that the harvesting process is gently enough to keep fat cells alive.

The Body Jet technology (also known as “Aqua-Lipo”) in the U.S. is currently the best option for “wash and filter techniques.
It has been extensively “road tested” and scientific data gained is impressive.

Since Body Jet natural fat transfer breast augmentation does also eliminate unwanted deposits of fat, mostly from thighs, flanks and abdomen, at the same time, patients suitable for this breast augmentation modality do also seem to be much happier with the final results.

The procedure will not interfere with future mammograms because the fat is never injected into the breast gland directly, but in different planes around the breast.
After fat transfer breast augmentation the breasts are more like natural breasts.

Other advantages of natural fat transfer breast augmentation are massive:There is no need for implant exchange ever nor any risk of implant related complications.

From my surgical perspective, the handling characteristics are also a crucial advantage of the Body Jet.
The simultaneous irrigation , suction and filtering process has made natural fat transfer breast augmentation much more user friendly.
Previous centrifugation techniques were extremely time consuming and a lot of fat was lost during the preparation process.

With Body Jet, we do normally need about 1-1,5 hours to complete the breast augmentation procedure, which is done under local anesthetic.
That makes natural fat transfer breast augmentation a much more realistic alternative for many patients.
In our Marbella practice, natural fat transfer breast augmentation does already make up for about 60% of breast augmentation cases, with numbers further rising.

Choosing the right implant in breast augmentation

In my opinion, individuality is the key to success in any kind of aesthetic surgery, and also for breast augmentation.
There is no one-size-fits-all implant. There are different types of implants for breast enlargement that come in different sizes.
Preferences vary amongst patients one pateint may like what the other one may not.

In the South of Spain, I work in an environment where patients will spend half of the year on the beach, and good implant size correction is of utmost importance.
Most of our patients are eager to have scar free minimally invasive breast augmentation surgery, and natural fat transfer breast augmentation has become one of our most frequently performed operations.

Fat transfer breast augmentation is our procedure of choice for all patients who are suitable, this means who have at least one problem zone fat to spare.
Removing this problem zone together with the breats augmentation does significantly increase patient satisfaction.

However, not all patients wanting breast augmentation have such extra fat.

When using implants, I generally use cohesive silicone gel implants. Cohesive means that the gel is stable, and no evacuation of fluid can occur.

I do not regard saline implants as indicated for any breast , at least not in my practice.

There is no substitute for accurate measurements. The size of an implant is just one aspect, but form and projection are equally important for a perfect result.

Another important factor is skin laxity or looseness. To achieve successful augmentation, you must have enough tissue to cover the breast implant. It is also important to make sure your breasts are even.

My experience, and other surgeons seem to share this, is that patients tend to rather err on the conservative side, meaning that it is very common that patients go for bigger implants later rather than for smaller ones.

Should you require some more extensive information on this procedure, either in the Department of Plastic Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery at Hospital Quiron Malaga or in Cirumed Clinic Marbella please contact us.

Breast augmentation: Implants versus fat

Different patients request different options, and a solution which is desired by one patient may not be so good for another patient.

This does not only apply to breast augmentation, but also to all other types of cosmetic surgery.

There is no precut “one-size-fits-all”recipe which applies to all patients, therefore we suggest to take sufficient time to discuss in depth all options between surgeon and patient.

In my practice, we have seen a major change in breast augmentation with introduction of the Body Jet fat transfer system.
This technique has solved most of the problems that we have seen with fat transfer breast augmentation in the past.

Less volume is lost during harvest, the „take“ rates of the fat exceed 70-80%, there is no interference with mamograms and the procedure is safe and easy to perform under local anesthetic.

I regard it as ideal for all patients who have fat to spare elsewhere, and in fact the treatment of such „problem zones“ seems to add significantly to patient happiness.

However, there is alsways a certain number of patients who have no fat to spare, and for those silicone gel implants remain the best option.

I have developed a certain faible for microtextured impalnts, which give a more natural feel especially in very thin patients.

For more information visit our Homepage:
www.beautymedicine.es/breast-augmentation

Breast enlargement without implants

Autologous fat transplantation

The one of the dreams of Plastic surgery, and like most surgeons (at least the ones that I talk to) is the future of Plastic surgery.

Take the patient´s own (autologous) fat from somewhere else and inject it for breast enlargement (or buttocks or face.
In the past, this has been a very troublesome procedure since it was very time consuming suctioned fat for transfer, and the survival rates where somewhat unpredictable.

This technique has experienced a major boost lately with the introduction of the Body Jet transfer system, which is a special,water assisted liposuction system.
This enables atraumatic harvest of fat without destroying single fat cells,and is currently the only fat transfer breast augmentation technique with guaranteed success rates.

In our practice, Body Jet assisted breast augmentation with the patient´s own fat is currently our procedure of choice for the greater part of patients seeking breast augmentation already.

In comparison to the classical centrifugation techniques (like the Coleman technique), the Body Jet is significantly superior both in handling as well as success rate.

They main difference between the two philosophies is that the Body jet technique puts emphasis not to damage the fat during harvest and manipulate it as little as possible afterwards, since every manipulation of the fat will decrease survival.
Our data suggests that about 90% of fat cells survive the harvest process and are therefore excellent for survival.

In contrast the centrifugation techniques are more traumatic and leave only aboput 5-10% of fat cells alive, which do then undergo lengthy preparation processes.

In our experience take rates of fat with the Body Jet technique are somewhat 10 fold higher.

Most importantly, the Body jet procedure has made the procedure quicker and more cost effective for patients, since it is no longer necessary to waste hours of theatre time with the harvest and preparation process.

That does also make the Body jet natural breast augmentation technique much more cost-effective for patients.

For more information visit our Homepage:
www.beautymedicine.es/breast-enlargement

Is mammography necessary before aesthetic breast surgery ?

The decision depends also on the preference of the individual surgeon; it is not absolute necessary.

In our Cirumed Clinic specialist group, we solved the question in the way that a highly qualified gynecologist furnishes patients before breast enlargement, breast uplift or a breast reduction with a so-called 4-D- ultrasound.

Dr.Ramin Pakzad, extremely experienced in the field of  breast disease and especially in the area of the breast cancer treatment and is our partner in these cases and since I can absolutely depend on the accuracy of his assessments, I prefer the ultrasound diagnostics done by him.

That provides me and my patient the security of a thorough preoperative diagnostics and saves young patients partly extensive -x-ray exposure.

A possible history of breast cancer within the family will also endorse the indication for preoperative breast screening. There are different approaches to breast screening before aesthetic surgery like breast augmentation, but we regard this one as best. Suspective findings in the age group seeking for breast augmentation are lessthan 0.5%, but nevertheless they occur.

Although the chance of a positive finding is very low especially in young patients, who are the majority of patients requesting breast augmentation, it still merits the effort. “If we are able to spot 1:1000 breast cancer cases just by the coincidence of screening for a breast augmentation operation, it was totally worth it”, says Dr.Pakzad, who teams up with Dr.Aslani and two oncologists forming a breats cancer unit in the Malaga area.

The 4-D-ultrasound technique does also play a significant role in spotting ruptured implants after breast augmentation.

For more information visit our Homepage:
www.beautymedicine.es/breast-augmentation

Dr. Ramin Pakzad Pakzad, Clinica Ginecologica Banus