Letty's Liposuction Directory

Breast Liposuction: Unusual Approaches

Author: Letty's Staff Writer

When it comes to the breast liposuction can play a role both in patients considering augmentation, and those considering reduction.

This article hopes to bring some clarity to both issues.

Whether you are a man or woman seeking a breast reduction, or a woman seeking a less invasive form of breast augmentation, hopefully Letty's Liposuction Directory will give you some information that may be crucial in your decision-making process.

I. Breast Reduction

Let's begin with the removal of tissue from the breast.

Patients needing a breast reduction know from their own research or from the experience of friends and co-workers that breast reduction is a significant operation. It's typically a surgery that involves the removal a sizeable portion of skin, tissue, and fat. Also there is significant recovery time and pain often involved in the surgery. But – for women especially – the most upsetting part of a breast reduction surgery can be the scars that in most cases are permanent after surgery. Large and very visible scars on the breasts are accepted as a necessary trade-off for the relief associated with lighter breasts.

Until recently that is...

Breast liposuction is beginning to emerge as a way to treat women – and men for that matter – who require breast reduction. Using liposuction rather than the standard approach to breast reduction has a few distinct benefits.

Some of the advantages of breast liposuction for reduction include:

1. Less down time. Patients can return to work after liposuction of the breast with 2 to 4 days, rather than the 4 to 5 weeks required for traditional mammoplasty.
2. Less scarring. Tiny "nicks" are made in the skin for liposuction of the breast. These small incisions can – in many cases – be tucked away under the arm, or hidden in the creases under the breasts to make them even less visible to others. This contrasts starkly with the long horizontal and vertical scars on the front of the breast that traditional surgery often creates.
3. Less pain. Because liposuction is a less invasive procedure, nerve-endings and pain receptacles aren't disturbed as much as they are during traditional breast-reduction surgery. Therefore, pain is minimized in the liposuction procedure.
4. Fewer side-effects. I want to be very careful NOT to give the impression that liposuction is without side-effects. All surgeries have the potential for undesirable and unplanned consequences. Having said that, it is also true that because liposuction is less invasive, less time is spent in surgery, and less general anesthesia may be required – there can be fewer complications associated with it than the other more invasive technique.

Who is more ideal for breast reduction surgery using liposuction?

Those Better Suited:

Women who have enough fatty tissue in the breasts, who have good skin elasticity, and who already have a relatively round shape to the breasts will make better candidates for breast liposuction. So, currently only a small subset of women needing breast reduction will truly qualify for liposuction of the breast.

The others will still need the more traditional breast reduction surgery.

Those NOT Well-Suited:

Patients with dense, glandular breast tissue aren't as well suited for breast liposuction.

This tissue isn't as easily suctioned using the "cannula" liposuction device responsible for removing fatty tissue. This device can become easily clogged with glandular tissues, which can make the surgery less effective overall. The cannula just doesn't do as effective a job of removing fibrous breast tissues. Not to mention that post-operative results can be less symmetrical or uniform.

Also, women with extremely large and pendulous breasts will often not see enough skin retraction after surgery with liposuction. For these women liposuction can exacerbate the sagging or flaccid appearance of the breasts.

What about the men who want breast liposuction?

For those men who have gynecomastia – enlarged male breasts – liposuction can be a good treatment.

Many men don't need huge amounts of fat removed from the breasts. Liposuction can really work for them. However, other men have large, pendulous breast just like the ladies. For these guys, liposuction alone won't be enough to treat sagging skin post-operatively. They will require some skin excision, and may have larger scars than the liposuction-only crowd.

So, again the bottom line is that there will be a group of male patients for whom liposuction alone will work.

II. Breast Augmentation

Liposuction is being used these days as a way to harvest fat and stem cells for grafting into the breasts.

Women who have had cancer-related mastectomies, and others who object to having implants are turning to this technique for fuller, perkier breasts.

How does it work?

First, fat-harvesting instruments plus the tumescent liposuction technique – does a good job of collecting fat cells without destroying them. Then those harvested cells (which have been gently purified and concentrated) are injected into the breasts.

It is important to understand that natural grafted fat must reestablish its blood supply in order to survive.

Fat tissue is full of stem cells. This is great!

These potent cells act to create the kind of vascular connections that grafted fat cells depend on to thrive long-term in the new area.

Finally, grafted fat cells and stem cells can create a softer, fuller, more youthful looking appearance in the area where they are placed.

Who is the ideal patient for this procedure?

A woman who has an adequate store of fat is a good candidate for the procedure.

The refining process that occurs during the liposuction phase of the surgery always reduces that amount of fat available for injection during the second phase. So you need adequate stores of fat to begin with.

A woman who has realistic expectations for her post-surgical results, is also a better candidate than one who doesn't understand the limitations of the procedure. Achieving a 1-2 cup-size increase in the breasts is achievable with fat grafting. However, transforming an A-cupped woman into a triple-D sized one – is not a realistic expectation for this particular technique.

What is the take-home here?

Hopefully we've educated you and given you some information that will make your plastic surgery experience a good.

AND because fat-grafting into the breast is so new...

.. you want to make sure that you are working with someone who does the technique often and has a high rate of success with it.

Breast Liposuction References:

• Sadove, Richard. "New Observations in Liposuction-Only Breast Reduction. (Brief Article)." Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. vol. 29.1 (Jan 2005): 28(4). Expanded Academic ASAP (20 July 2009).

• "Natural Fat Grafting After Liposuction Can Improve Breast Reconstruction Outcomes." PRWeb Newswire (24 Jan. 2011)

• Melton, Lisa. "Breast boost in your lunch hour." Chemistry and Industry. vol. 13 (2007): 10. General OneFile (30 Nov 2009).

• "Fat grafting is attractive alternative to implants." Medical Design. vol. 10.7 (2010). General OneFile (29 Apr. 2011).

• Worcester, Sharon. "Liposuction Called Promising for Breast Reduction. (Less Pain, Down Time)." OB GYN News. vol. 36.20 (2001): 14. General OneFile (29 Apr. 2011).

• DeMott, Kathryn. "Breast liposuction cuts volume by about half. (Few Adverse Events)." Skin & Allergy News. vol. 33.8 (2002): 36. General OneFile (29 Apr. 2011).

• Brunk, Doug. "Liposuction for breast reduction proves effective." Skin & Allergy News. vol. 39.12 (2008): 21. General OneFile (29 Apr. 2011).