4/11/07

Fat grafting, which has been performed for years on the face, hands, and buttocks is now being used to enhance the breasts—but is it safe? Patients insist it looks natural, but the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) warns that it could be dangerous.

“You’re creating something that’s very natural feeling. Your boyfriend, your husband, no one can tell that anything was done,” says Sydney Coleman, MD, a plastic surgeon in NYC.

Coleman says there is no risk of hardening. He also notes that the procedure adds volume and allows surgeons to shape and sculpt.

“It does what you want it to, so it projects more, it bottoms out, and it has more upper pull fullness. You can make better cleavage,” says Coleman.

According to ASPS, more research needs to be done on the long-term effects of the procedure and warns patients that the fat injections could make breast-cancer screening difficult.

“The fat cells can scar down, form cysts, and sometimes will even form calcifications—and calcifications can sometimes make it difficult in examining the breast,” says Walter Erhardt, MD, FACS, a plastic surgeon in Albany, Ga.

Coleman notes that it is imperative that women get regular checkups and mammograms after any type of breast surgery.

PSP will feature Coleman in its May cover story. You can read it at www.plasticsurgeryproductsonline.com beginning on May 3.

[www.10news.com, April 9, 2007]