Breast Surgery—Combining Fat Grafting and Breast Implants

Breast reconstruction via implants for cancer patients who had undergone radiation therapy is often not an ideal procedure due to the high risk of complications for the reason that radiation has toxic effects on tissues, which can impede natural healing for many women.

Because breast implants are not ideal for cancer patients who had radiation therapy, tissue-based reconstruction is the only viable treatment in which their own tissue from buttocks, abdomen, or back is used to create a new breast mound.  However, the tradeoff is longer recovery and muscle weakness and scarring in the donor site.

Fortunately, doctors have found ways minimize the radiation-induced complications, making it possible to use breast implants for post-cancer patients who received radiation therapy.  The staged procedure involves injecting a person’s own fats to her breast so the area will receive a “bed of healthy tissue” in the chest wall.

A recent study published in the February issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery medical journal has proven the promising advantage of combining fat grafting and implants for breast reconstruction.

The three-year study involved 16 patients who underwent the new breast reconstruction technique after receiving radiation therapy to fight off cancer cells.  Eleven respondents had mastectomy (partial or complete removal of breasts) while five had lumpectomy and other types of breast-conserving surgery.

Breast reconstruction began three to six months after the respondents received radiation therapy.

All patients have received two to three fat grafts to place healthy tissue in the chest wall, allowing it to accommodate the breast implants and to lower the risk of radiation-induced complications.

The collected fats from the donor site must be subjected to a purification method to separate biomaterials such as blood and connective tissue; in this way, the survival rate of the grafted fats will be high.

After the staged breast reconstruction, the results were highly encouraging in terms of aesthetic improvements, the researchers concluded.  Also, patient satisfaction was rated high to very high.

Meanwhile, an average follow-up of 15 months did not show any complications as all patients have experienced good healing in their tissue surrounding the breast implants.

Performing radiation therapy after breast cancer surgery significantly reduces the risk of recurrence, although the downside is that the treatment can affect the body’s healing because of its toxic effects.

While the new study revealed the promising benefits of fat grafting with breast implant for reconstruction surgery, the researchers said more comprehensive surveys and trials with longer follow-up are still needed to confirm their findings.