Procedure 03
Autologous augmentation by breast fat transfer
Enlarging the breasts with your own fat, without an implant. Half a cup to a full cup per procedure — and the option chosen first in certain asymmetries and malformations.
- Duration
- 2 h
- Anaesthesia
- General
- Stay
- Day case
- Recovery
- 7 days
Figures confirmed by the surgeon; they vary from case to case and are specified in consultation.
The essentials
The four questions that come up
- What is breast fat transfer?
- An augmentation by transfer of your own fat, without an implant. It is harvested by liposuction where it is in excess, prepared, then reinjected into the breast. It is also called lipomodelling or lipostructure.
- How much volume can be gained?
- Half a cup to one cup size in a single operation. Beyond that, two to three sessions are needed: part of the transferred fat is naturally resorbed.
- Am I a good candidate?
- Your figure must have enough fat deposits to make the operation possible — the abdomen or the rest of the figure. That is the first thing the consultation examines.
- When is fat preferable to an implant?
- Above all when the volume to be added is small or moderate: small losses of volume after a pregnancy or weight loss, asymmetry due to a lack of growth on one side, tuberous breasts. In these cases, fat avoids placing an implant.
Your own fat, instead of an implant
Cosmetic breast surgery by fat transfer — also called lipofilling or lipomodelling — can be an alternative to augmentation with breast implants, above all when the volume to be added to the breasts is small or moderate.
The fat is harvested from your own body, where it is in excess, then reinjected into the breast after preparation. Breast lipomodelling is all the easier to perform if you have excess fat on the abdomen or elsewhere on the figure.
Augmentation by fat transfer alone makes it possible to increase your breasts by half a cup to one cup size in a single operation. Your figure must have fat deposits available to make this operation possible; your surgeon will advise you.
Fat injections are part of the distance-learning course Dr Azencot gave for SOFCEP to young plastic surgeons (2023), alongside breast lifting and mastopexy with implants.
This is the first argument for the technique: no foreign body, therefore no capsular contracture, no wear and no replacement to plan. In return, the volume gained cannot match that of a large implant, unless a further session is planned.
This fat is living tissue: significant weight loss should be avoided, at the risk of seeing that fat volume diminish.
What volume to expect
This is the deciding question, and it is answered in figures.
A classic breast augmentation takes a patient from an A cup to a C cup with a 320 cc implant. To achieve this with fat, a first session with the injection of 300 cc is needed for a gain of 220 cc, then a second session with the injection of 300 cc for a gain of 220 cc — a total of 440 cc.
For the small breasts of a young adult, the technique is suitable for an augmentation of half a cup to one cup size; otherwise, two to three sessions are needed.
Not all the injected volume is retained: that is why more must be injected than the gain aimed for, and sometimes repeated. An honest consultation announces this number of sessions before the operation, not after.
The indications
Some situations make fat transfer not an alternative but the first-line option.
After a pregnancy or weight loss
This is the case of small losses of volume, the aim being to restore the pre-existing volume.
Asymmetry due to a lack of growth
Breast asymmetry due to a lack of growth on one side is a prime indication: it avoids placing an implant on one side only, for a natural symmetrisation.
Juvenile malformations and tuberous breasts
These are also excellent indications for breast lipomodelling. Fat makes it possible to shape where an implant only adds volume.
Chest wall malformations
Chest wall malformations such as pectus excavatum or pectus carinatum are an indication for reshaping by fat injection, sometimes combined with breast implants or with silicone implants on the sternum.
In addition to something else
Lipomodelling is rarely performed alone in complex cases: it complements.
After a breast lift — the reshaping of the breasts then requires additional volume, which can elegantly be fat, for a natural breast.
With an implant — this is composite augmentation: combining fat injections with an implant in the same operation, either in cases of thin breasts with little fat available at the donor sites, or to improve the contours, the cleavage and the naturalness of the result.
On an earlier augmentation — revisions of breast augmentations carried out previously are excellent indications: fat transfer can improve the contours and camouflage small defects. As part of an implant replacement for natural wear, lipofilling adds value to the result — one may speak of composite breast revision.
The ultimate stage is the definitive removal of the implants and their replacement with fat alone. This is known as implant removal with autologous conversion. The surgeon describes it as ideal from the age of 60, to return to a lesser demand for volume without losing the beauty of one’s breasts.
Frequently asked questions
What patients ask
These answers reflect the content written and validated by the surgeon. Each one is written to stand alone, question by question.
Do I need to be slim or to have reserves?
Is it more natural than an implant?
Can implants be replaced with fat?
Does the fat interfere with breast screening?
How many sessions should I plan for?
Why inject more fat than the volume aimed for?
Where is the fat taken from?
Can the volume change if I lose weight?
When is fat the preferred option?
Can fat and an implant be combined?
Can lipofilling complement another operation?
What anaesthesia and what hospital stay?
Glossary
The words on this page
The terms used here, each defined in a sentence in the site’s glossary.
Gallery
Breast fat transfer, before and after
Cases operated on by Dr Azencot, photographed before and after surgery, in front and three-quarter views. Drag to compare. The captions are the surgeon’s own.
Photographs for information only — neither a commitment nor a guarantee of result. Every situation is unique and assessed in consultation.
Go further
Related procedures
Meet us
Consultation
A first consultation is there to understand your request and tell you what is possible — including when the answer is that it is better to do nothing.
Clinique Esthétique Ferrère
16 ter rue Ferrère
33000 Bordeaux
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A question before booking a consultation?
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In cosmetic surgery, French law requires a detailed written quote and a cooling-off period of at least fifteen days between the consultation and the operation. No deposit may be requested during that period. Two consultations are required before any operation.