Fat Grafting, pros and cons
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Julie, I hope your fat is obedient too! I did read (in a published paper, no less) that thigh fat tends to stick around better than belly fat--especially for women. I suppose it's fat that *really* wants to be there--that's certainly where my fat likes to be!
I'm 5'4 and 115-120 pounds with a 27" ribcage. I have 450 and 500 implants, and I'm really struggling with feeling too small. I don't think I want the risk of exchanging implants, so I'm hoping that some fat could just plump them up a bit--and get rid of the ripples and dents (which are pretty significant in my case). I'd love to experience softer and warmer! Maybe even just a little increase in size would convince me to be satisfied.
Good to know that all of the swelling makes you gain water weight. I would be so very lost if it weren't for all the information I've gotten here!!
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Huh, never heard that about the thigh vs. belly fat. However, both of my fat graft surgeries have been from my thighs, and I have had excellent fat retention. 😜 My pear shape finally had a positive purpose!
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I also heard that doing fat frafting from a resistent area leads to more of it surviving. I feel I still have swelling but I think my thighs are definitely less pointy and thinner already. She said 3 times during my post op appointment that she took a lot.
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SpecialK, I missed your earlier response until now, but I'm so sorry you've been wrestling with your insurance co. while also dealing with the physical issues. That seems just so unfair and wrong, and I hope you get a good resolution.
I'm putting the thought of fat grafting on a back burner for now, until I get through rads and all the settling that people say will happen in the first 6 mos. or maybe even the first year. But it's good to have this information; I may well revisit in later when I see how things end up. Thanks!
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For the ladies who have already had fat grafting done, what was done at the pre-op, how long we're you at the hospital the day of the surgery and what was the hardest part? Any helpful hints to make the recovery easier?
What did the compression garment look like and where is it worn and for how long for those who had abdominal fat grafting?0 -
Hi, Thank you for asking htis question. I really would like some feedback about this subject. I just spent 2 hrs researching fat grafting and I am thinking that I am going to ask my second opinion ps if I can do this instead of or with a combination with silicone implants.
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Roadrash - most of the fat grafting being discussed on this thread is to fix minor defects or provide smoothing when added to existing reconstruction. Using fat alone for achieving reconstruction is a different process - some use Brava, which I don't believe most insurance covers. There are some threads specifically about this that may provide some good I info for you. Here is one:
https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/44/topic/...
Mommy - my pre-op was like for any other surgery, filled out forms, blood pressure, temp, height/weight, brief chat with anesthesiologist. Day of surgery was 90 mins in pre-op - changed into gown, set IV, etc., less than two hours of surgery, less than two hours of post-op. My binder was a thick piece of foam inside a tight elastic belt about 10 inches tall that closed with Velcro. I didn't wear this long though as it didn't fit well, I switched to Spanx that was a high-waisted panty.
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Thanks special k. My ps suggested upper abdominal fat grafting... Would this change the type of compression garment? I also hear most people say no bra for awhile to let fat "take". Is this also true? For how long? My implants are quite heavy and I've been told to always wear a bra to help with support.0
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mommy - I had upper and lower abdominal areas as the donor site. I wore a garment like this:
http://www1.macys.com/shop/womens-clothing/spanx-star-power?id=63723
Also had one of these, since it covers the high abdominal area but does not compress the chest:
I had fat placed above the implants to correct divots so that area would not have been compressed by a bra, but I just wore Genie type bras after the grafting. Follow your own PS instructions for both compression and what bra to wear. You just don't want to squish the grafted area flat with anything that constricts. Because I did not have grafting over the front of the breast I can't answer the "how long" question for you.
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Thank you for the information Special K. I apprecate your help. called my insurance company and you are right they won't cover it at all. The insurance will only cover the revisions with fat grafting if there is no other impant that can rectify the problem. I hope my body accepts the implant and doesn't cause more problems for me. My family have been pushed to the edge with my medical problems.
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Special k thanks for the info. Unfortunately I couldn't open the links to see the spanx0
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Road rash,
So ur insurance company wants u to change implants rather than do fat grafting?0 -
mommy - I think roadrash means her insurance won't cover fat grafting as reconstruction in place of an implant.
Here is an image since the link wouldn't work:
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Hi, I hear that the insurance will pay for the explant of a breast implant but not fat grafting for reconstruction alone. Is that what poeple have experienced?
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Thanks!!0
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Mommyathome, for the first week I didn't wear a bra. At my post op, she said I can wear any bra that didn't put any pressure in the upper areas where she put the fat. I'll wear genie bras the next couple of weeks to be on the safe side.
I return to work tomorrow after 11 days off. I had fat taken from my outer thighs (saddlebags). I was very sore and bruised the first 5 days or so but it is much better now. I could have returned to work in a week. I think there is still swelling in my thighs. After surgery, the scale went up 4 pounds and as of today, I'm back to my pre-surgery weight. I'll keep wearing my spanx for a couple more weeks but my PS said I really didn't have to. It feels better with them on because things feel jiggly and heavy where she took the fat.
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Thanks Julie! Good luck on your first day back! Glad to hear you're healing well! I am planning to take a week off.... Hope it's enough!0
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Thank you. So far, I am happy I did this. I don't see the ripples anymore and hopefully the fat will stay. Aaaaand my thighs don't seem pointy anymore. I see a difference!
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I'm doing it to fill in a dip above the implant. You can see where the tissue was taken.. If that makes sense. She said shed probably only take 100cc.... Hope it's worth it!0
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I also have those dips towards my armpits. Sort of like when they remove your breast tissue, the can only go so far up before they stop. She put a little fat there and they seem a bit better. I also had a stepoff that was greatly improved.
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Ya, I guess mine is a step off... The top near collar bone is a bit concave... I also have a divot on side of that breast near armpit from lumpectomy and mastectomy, but she said she's not addressing that0
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Mommy, Roadrash,
I wear a soft surgical bra that puts no pressure on any of the places the fat was added but offers support. The abdominal binder they gave me in the hospital is like a super strong very wide white ace bandage with Velcro along one end. It covers my upper, mid, and lower abdomen where the donor sites were. It's to be worn 24/7 for 8 weeks. They gave me two so I can wash one, wear one. I'm really sick of wearing it after 6 weeks! The surgery took a few hours. Normally it is outpatient surgery but I always have to stay overnight due to some heart issues that could come up - but don't. They don't want to take a chance so I go to a monitored floor and wear a bunch of electrodes til mid-day. You won't have to do that.
One donor site several inches above my navel has a sore spot about the size of a quarter and the small incision has had a harder time healing completely than the other spots. It would have been impossible to work the first week because the pain from the donor areas was pretty intense when I stood up. It didn't last long and it didn't happen while I was sitting quietly but it was impossible to ignore when I stood. (I cursed every time...loudly!) The second week was better but it still hurt. I didn't take any pain drugs because there was no point medicating for several hours when I only needed it for 15 seconds every couple of hours. There was minor swelling that was all gone by the 3rd week. The restrictions were the same as after a mastectomy or exchange...no lifting, don't raise arms above shoulder level. Driving caused some pain due to decreased ROM because of swelling at 2 weeks but by 3 weeks it was fine.
I had a lot taken so I'm sure if you only have 100-200 cc's it would be manageable and you could go back to work sooner. I had 1,000 cc's and absolutely NO bruising in the donor areas. Ask for the tumescent procedure. Makes a big difference.
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Thanks Sandra. What's the tumescent procedure? My ps didn't go into specifics but she did say that the fat is put into a machine before injecting.... Is that what u are referring to?0
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I think both kinds of fat grafting use a centrifuge to separate out the fat from the blood and other fluids. For the tumescent (aka wet )procedure, the PS injects a mixture of epinephrine to control bleeding and lidocaine, then removes it all and "spins out" the fat before injecting it elsewhere. There is no bruising. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1835414-overview I had general anesthesia for the procedure but apparently some people do it with just the local anesthesia effects of the lidocaine.
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She's planning to put me out. I have been having migraine headaches, and had an abnormal EKG- flat t waves so I was sent to cardiologist. At appt he did EKG and he said it was ok but my blood pressure was 165/110. I have to go next week to hospital to get a 24 he blood pressure monitor put on because I have white coat syndrome. He wants to see my normal blood pressure. Good to know during surgery too I guess. I also just found out I have osteopenia. I need to make appointment with endocrinologist for that and neurologist for the migraines. Not a dull moment!!0
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Thanks to everyone posting here. I'm scheduled for a fat grafting procedure March 19. PS is also removing the fill ports on that day. Procedure is out patient but at hospital. And I had the option of and chose local instead of general anesthesia. I was told zero down time. I can go back to work the next day and fly to Germany for business 3 days later.
I'm questioning this now!!
My procedure is to fill ripples from saline implants and hopefully the large divots/drop offs on each side.
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Good luck Sunny. Who knows? You may have no problems at all with donor site pain and be able to go back to work quickly. Hope so.
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Last fat graft was on March 11,2014. Seems to me that just about all of the fat has maintained, and Dr. Ahn says-this will be with me forever. Hope so.Tesoricx-I sent a PM to you with info on how to contact me. Will be updating final photo's on the fat graft website. The best to all. Eileen
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I've read this entire post this evening with interest and envy. I'm scheduled for fat grafting on April 9th but for an entirely different reason and because I haven't read any others having FG for this same problem, I'm a little worried. I have postmastectomy pain syndrome. The PS I met with Monday made my dx and suggested one of the unintended but beneficial responses to FG is pain relief from PMPS. He's had good results putting a layer of fat under the skin and over my muscle which have apparently tethered together and are causing me unrelenting pain. Thoughts, comments? Thank you
Amy
PS I'm in the process of reading the several hundred page post for PMPS for additional info.
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Welcome Amy. This is interesting and something I haven't heard before. Thinking it over, however, I realized I might have received a similar benefit from fat grafting and understand what your doctor is saying. I suffered with pain all across my chest (from clavicle down to the implants) for the 16 months between surgery #1 (BMX) and #6 (fat grafting) seven weeks ago. I don't have it anymore. My breast surgeon was quite aggressive in the BMX, taking every tiny bit of breast tissue, fat and the lining (fascia) covering the muscles on my chest. The least amount of pressure caused pain. When a doctor would put a stethoscope on my chest, for instance, I would flinch and shrink back in pain.
Changing the type of implants from Allergan Style 20 silicone rounds to the much taller Allergan 410 gummy bears helped since they covered some of the lowest areas on my chest. In the fat grafting surgery, my PS removed 1,000 cc's of fat from my abdomen and injected it across my chest. Problem solved. No more pain. I can press firmly on my chest or even give it a sharp poke without ANY pain or even discomfort. It looks great too. No more hollow areas that were just thin skin stretched over bone and thin muscle.
I hope this is the answer for you too. Keep us posted.
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