Breast Implant Removal with Fat Transfer in Raleigh, North Carolina*

This patient had silicone gel breast implants placed about 11 years ago and was initially satisfied with them but just felt they did not fit her body anymore. She was slender and didn't feel comfortable. She did not have any problems with the implants . She did not have any capsular contracture or concerns about breast implant illness. She had 300 cc breast implants and was somewhat concerned about the appearance of her breasts after explantation so she chose to have some conservative fat transfer to the breasts. She was hopeful to be smaller after explantation just fearful of looking collapsed after over 10 years with the implants in place. The patient underwent bilateral explantation of her breast implants which were submuscular silicone 300 cc devices. She had Vaser liposuction of the abdomen and flanks with a conservative amount of fat harvested, no more than 800 cc. The fat was processed by washing and removing oil and broken cells with the Pure Graft system. 150 mls of fat was delivered to each breast. This helped to overcome some of the loss of volume and shape but maintained a small breast which was her own natural fat. Fat transfer to the breasts will rarely provide an equivalent result as that of a breast implant and certainly does not allow for a complete volume replacement of the removed implant. It does help after explantation to overcome some anticipated deformities and provide a modest volume improvement.