Fat Graft Task Force Updates ASPS’ Position on Autologous Fat Grafting

The Fat Graft Task Force, a subgroup of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, has been reviewing the less-invasive breast augmentation procedure of fat grafting. Their findings are sparking continued debate concerning unanswered questions.

A subgroup of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons known as the Fat Graft Task Force recently met for a full review of the evidence and determined that” well, they determined that there are still a lot of unanswered questions about injecting fat into the breast for cosmetic reasons.

This grafting procedure occurs when a surgeon removes fat from one part of the body and then injects it into another area, such as the face, as a way of giving that area more volume.

It isn’t really a brand new method, and for more than two decades, plastic surgeons have debated its safety and reliability. However, injection of fat into the breast for cosmetic enhancement has been frowned upon.

The question remains whether the newly implanted fat tissue might either cause breast cancer or hide breast cancers and prevent tests from detecting them. Proponents of the procedure say this is not an issue, yet no controlled study has ever been published.

In a letter to the ASPS journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, New York plastic surgeon Dr. Jennifer Walden raised the question of whether doctors who are currently performing autologous fat grafting for breast augmentation are accustomed to following their patients over the course of many years after the procedure, as is expected after placing breast implants. She added:

“Are they and their staff equipped for the nitty-gritty details of arranging breast surgical, oncologic, and radiologic follow-up for a lump or bump, microcalcification or macrocalcificationwhen their patient calls on them?”

The task force’s review of the history and use of fat grafting did not reveal any cases where the fat grafting impeded an accurate mammogram. And, Task Force member Sydney Coleman, also a New York plastic surgeon, said that many radiologists actually find it easier to examine breast tissue that has been grafted rather than supplied with a silicone implant.

Coleman noted, however, that his group would not make absolute recommendations for or against fat grafting without seeing further results of trial testing.

To date, there have been no credible long-term studies on fat injections to the breast, and many plastic surgeons, particularly those who specialize in breast augmentation and reconstruction, believe that, in the absence of this data, there is no good rationale for the procedure. We will keep you updated as research continues.