A fat transfer breast augmentation involves taking fat out of the body via liposuction and placing it into the breasts to enlarge and shape them. The results can last indefinitely so long as your weight doesn’t fluctuate after the procedure. You can increase the longevity of your results simply by following your surgeon’s post-op instructions and adopting a healthy lifestyle.
Breast Fat Transfer Expectations and Results After 1 Year
It takes about 6 months for your final results to reveal themselves after a breast fat transfer, but when they do it is almost universally to positive reviews. At 1-year post-op, all of the swelling will be completely gone. Any fat cells that were going to die off after the fat transfer will have done so at this point and the results you see now should be permanent. You can now sleep in whatever position you like and no longer need to worry that certain positions or tight clothing will alter your new shape.
Breast Fat Transfer Expectations and Results After 5 Years
Five years after your procedure you should still be enjoying your results. Assuming your weight hasn’t fluctuated, your breasts should look the same or very similar to the way they did a year after surgery. Not much will have changed at this point. Your breasts should still have a firm but natural feel.
What to Expect 10 Years and Beyond After a Breast Fat Transfer
Ten years after a breast fat transfer you may be starting to notice some changes in your breasts. If your weight has changed, your breasts may have changed along with it. Remember that the fat cells your surgeon places in your breasts are still part of you, even if they have moved to a new part of your body. They will tend to expand and contract along with your other fat cells.
It’s also important to remember that your surgeon can’t turn off gravity or the aging process. Your breasts may experience some sagging as you age, usually starting in your 40s or 50s. Ten years after your procedure you may find yourself in this age range and notice things are changing slightly.
Some women notice little or no changes in their breasts 10 years after surgery. Those who have had some weight changes or who are noticing signs of aging sometimes opt for a revision surgery. This allows them to fight the signs of aging and freshen things up if necessary.
Does Your Age at the Time of Breast Fat Transfer Surgery Matter?
There is no ideal age at which to have a breast fat transfer done, but most patients are in their 30s and 40s at the time of their surgery. If you have the surgery when you’re older, the concern is more with your liposuction areas than with the breasts themselves.
As we age, our skin loses its elasticity and doesn’t always snap back into place and firm up if we lose weight. This means that it could stay loose and sag a bit after we remove the donor fat via liposuction. Fortunately, if this is an issue we can combat it with skin-tightening procedures like J-Plasma.
How Aging Affects Fat Cells
Your fat cells only live for about 10 years, so they don’t age in the same way as your body overall. So long as your weight remains fairly stable, however, your body replaces them at the rate necessary to keep the total number of fat cells in your body about the same. If you lose weight, the number of fat cells you have remains the same but the cells shrink. As you gain weight the cells expand and get larger—but if you gain enough weight, your body will increase the number of overall fat cells.
This holds true even after fat cells are transferred from one part of your body to another. The fat cells placed in your breasts may have a maximum lifespan of 10 years, but your body will replace them as needed to maintain a steady number of cells. As such, you need not worry about the fat cells we transfer to your breasts dying off and making your breasts shrink.
How Long Do Breast Fat Transfer Results Usually Last?
Once they establish a blood supply and get comfortable in their new home, you can expect your newly transferred fat cells to remain in your breasts for life. Now that you know they only live for 10 years, you know that you will outlive these cells. But your body will replace them as needed and keep your breasts at their new size throughout your lifetime.
What Improves the Longevity of Breast Fat Transfer?
The success and longevity of your breast fat transfer depend on you and your surgeon. For the best results, it’s critical that you choose an experienced plastic surgeon. The more qualified your surgeon, the better your results will be. You should choose someone who has experience not just with breast augmentation but with a broad range of liposuction procedures as well. Remember that this surgery isn’t just about your breasts: fat will be collected from donor sites, and you want these parts of your body to look as good as your breasts when all is said and done.
You are the other factor in the outcome of your surgery and the longevity of your results. Following your post-op instructions is critical to the process, so please reach out if you have questions about anything. You will need to wear your compression garments as instructed, avoid certain activities like sleeping on your stomach or side, take any antibiotics and other medications precisely as prescribed, and follow all of the other instructions your surgeon gives you. The more closely you follow your instructions, the better your results will look and the longer they will last.
Don’t forget that taking care of your body in general is also important to long-lasting results. The better physical shape you are in before your surgery, the faster you will recover and the better your surgical outcome will be. Your results will last longer if you maintain a healthy lifestyle after surgery. It’s also critical that you avoid smoking before surgery and during your recovery. Avoiding the habit altogether or refraining from relapsing after quitting for surgery will also help you both look and feel better in the long term. Smoking ages your entire body more quickly and can impact plastic surgery results years after the procedure as a result.