Breast and Buttock Augmentation Using Fat Grafting – The Full Overview

In today’s world, cosmetic surgeries are continuously growing in popularity. A lot of people understand the numerous benefits of plastic surgery. It boosts confidence, betters self-image, and makes people more comfortable in their bodies. Such benefits have made sculpting bodies an art today – cosmetic surgery is an art form.

Here, we also need to note how wide the field of cosmetic surgery has become. What once began as the only rhinoplasty has since evolved to incorporate highly technical procedures covering every part of the human body.

A lot of these procedures’ main goal is enhancing the body in some way and making the curves more defined in women. And with modern technology, these procedures are painless with nearly invisible scars. Two curves that are particularly targeted in these procedures are the breasts and the buttocks.

And a standard method of enhancing these areas is through fat grafting.

What Fat Grafting Means

Fat grafting is a standard and, therefore, safe procedure. In it, fat is excavated from one part of the body, usually through liposuction, and injected into another part of the body. Removing fat cells has become very easy today.

In today’s world, technology has greatly developed. This means that there now exist particular liposuction machines – MicroAire and VASER. Also called Power-Assisted Liposuction and Ultrasound-Assisted Liposuction, respectively.

MicroAire and VASER vs Traditional Liposuction

MicroAire and VASER put the surgeon at a unique advantage. They make the entire liposuction procedure minimally invasive. This means that the trauma caused by the procedure also reduces. A much higher amount of trauma is present in traditional liposuction. This is a problem because this increases recovery time exponentially.

It also greatly injures the fat cells.

It makes harvesting fat from one part of the body nearly impossible. The idea is that this fat needs to be taken from the subcutaneous layer. This is the stubborn layer of fat between the skin and the muscle. When you work out for months and see no results, it is because of this layer.

Liposuction is supposed to target this layer and remove fat from this layer. Traditional liposuction achieves this but damages the cells in the process. MicroAire and VASER do not. They allow your surgeon to successfully harvest a much larger number of fat cells and treat them. This makes them viable. Then, they can be inserted or grafted into any part of the body, therefore enhancing it.

This is fat grafting.

Why Fat Grafting is Desirable

A lot of people do not understand the appeal of fat grafting. They may choose implants or some other method only because it has more publicity. But fat grafting is actually an incredibly safe measure. Let us explain why.

Suppose you get breast implants put in. You are incredibly happy with your new form, but then there is a complication. This complication is not a result of the surgery. Instead, it is that your body is not properly accepting the implant.

At the end of the day, when you use a breast implant, you are inserting a foreign object into your body. With fat grafting, this is not at all the case. The fat that your
surgeon grafts into your body is your own fat. They are not introducing a foreign object. Therefore, your body has no reason to reject the fat. It accepts it without a hitch, and you get a successful enhancement of your body.

This brings us back to the part of the body that is enhanced. Or rather, the parts of the body that are most frequently enhanced through fat grafting:

• The breasts
• The buttocks

Let’s begin with the breasts.

Breast Enhancement Through Fat Grafting

Why do women want breast enhancement?

Women opt for breast enhancement due to dissatisfaction with their bodies. They do not like their breasts and feel they are too small. Often, this procedure is also combined with a breast lift. Here, the breasts are rejuvenated and made perky by reorienting the nipples and tightening the tissue. For a more natural curve, breast augmentation is also done.

Breast augmentation is primarily done through 2 methods:

• Implants
• Fat Grafting

While we have already discussed above why some people prefer fat grafting, we will just provide a basic overview of implants.

Breast Implants – A Quick Overview

There are three types of breast implants:

• Smooth Implants
• Nano-textured Implants
• Textured Implants

Of these, most surgeons prefer smooth and nano-textured implants. These have the least complications, making the procedure much better and recovery more comfortable. They usually use the dual-plane method, where they place the implant behind both muscle and breast tissue. This contributes to a much more natural overall look.

Again, as we said previously, there is a chance of these implants causing problems. The most common problem with breast implants is capsular contracture. This is when the capsule covering the implant gets infected. There are methods to avoid this, of course. But they have to be appropriately implemented.

Fat Grafting – The Benefits

Fat grafting for breast augmentation only allows the woman to go up by 1/2 or 1 cup size. That is a significant limitation a lot of women face when opting for breast augmentation. However, if they decide that they want fat grafting, then it is safe because the fat was harvested from their own body.

Buttock Augmentation Through Fat Grafting

Buttock augmentation is only done through fat grafting. It is a very tricky procedure because the separators between the planes in the buttocks are not very clear. In fact, it is regarded as one of the most dangerous cosmetic procedures. When done incorrectly, it can even have deadly consequences.

What Makes Buttock Augmentation Dangerous

The main problem, as we said previously, is that the division between the various planes is not clear. Therefore, the major danger here is that the fat is inserted more profound than expected.

The fat needs to be inserted into the subcutaneous layer, i.e. the most superficial layer of fat. This is the layer present between the skin and muscle layers. It is the fat that is removed during liposuction. Attempting to gauge where to place the fat without demarcating areas and making pockets is, therefore, very dangerous.

This happens mainly because the buttocks have more prominent veins and vessels than some other parts of the body. Thus, inserting the fat too deep into the buttocks creates a major risk of it getting sucked into these vessels, causing embolisms. And embolisms are potentially deadly.

Why do women get buttock augmentation if it’s so dangerous?

The main reason is that they want to.

Other than that, a lot of women also choose buttock augmentation along with hip dip corrections. Hip dips are the points where your skin dips into the lateral side of your hips. The result of this is usually quite unflattering, and a lot of women want it corrected.

Hip dips are typically corrected through fat grafting. In this technique, fat is removed through liposuction from one area of the body and grafted into the dips for a fuller, smoother look. While the results are quite good by themselves, a little bit of buttock, augmentation ensures that these results look completely natural.

However, you need the right technique for the best, safest results. Therefore, the technique surgeons have developed for buttock augmentation through fat grafting is Expansion Vibration Lipofilling (EVL).

The ABCs of EVL

EVL, simply put, is the safest way to do buttock augmentation. Alongside taking measures such as the precise demarcation of areas for augmentation, your surgeon needs to know EVL.

In fact, to understand how vital this knowledge is, you need to know that countries have banned buttock augmentation if not done through EVL. This means that in certain countries, it is impossible to get buttock augmentation done. This is simply because the surgeons do not have the necessary expertise. They cannot guarantee your safety.

EVL can guarantee your safety 100%.

What is EVL?

Think of EVL as a sort of reverse MicroAire procedure. Remember MicroAire? We discussed it earlier when talking about fat grafting.

So let’s go into what MicroAire and VASER are now. Since liposuction for fat harvesting is the first step of the buttock augmentation procedure, we should explain these terms.

• MicroAire or Power-Assisted Liposuction (PAL): PAL is a liposuction technique that uses rapid back-and-forth motions to break up the fat cells. A cannula is inserted into the area that requires liposuction and is moved this way. Following this, the fat cells are suctioned out.
• VASER or Ultrasound-Assisted Liposuction (UAL): UAL uses ultrasound waves to melt and emulsify the fat cells. There are rings around the tip of the cannula that release these waves. This makes removal much more manageable and reduces trauma exponentially. Additionally, the ultrasound waves release heat. This heat causes the skin above the fat layer to shrink and tighten over the underlying muscle. With the fat gone, the skin sticks to the muscle and produces exceptionally natural results.

Both techniques are combined in fat harvesting. They reduce trauma and are minimally invasive. This means that recovering from them is easy. It also means that your surgeon harvests a lot more fat cells than traditional liposuction would allow.

So how does EVL work – the next step in buttock augmentation – work?

How EVL Reverses MicroAire

The premise of both MicroAire and VASER is that they use cannulas. This allows them a high level of precision. Your surgeon can go into the fat layer and stay there without worry. They have a lot more control. They cannot be blindsided.

Remember, we said the biggest problem with fat grafting for buttock augmentation was the insertion of the fat. With such a small cannula and so much control, the room for error substantially decreases. This is the first benefit reversing the MicroAire technique provides EVL. Inserting the MicroAire cannula ensures that your surgeon puts your safety first.

If you look at the logical next step of MicroAire, it is vibration. The rapid back-and-forth movement of the cannula is essentially vibration. This breaks up fat cells in liposuction so they can be removed. But obviously, there is no removal happening here. In EVL, this vibration is used to create pockets and spaces in for fat insertion.

And so, in one step, we have satisfied two of the three conditions of EVL:

EVL = Expansion (E) + Vibration (V) + Lipofilling (L)

The (E + V) equation is satisfied with the MicroAire cannula. Now we have L left. The lipofilling aspect.

What is lipofilling?

Lipofilling is precisely what it sounds like. Lipo means fat. So, if liposuction is the suctioning out of fat, i.e. fat removal, lipofilling is the filling of fat, i.e. fat addition.

EVL uses basket cannulas, creating a wider potential space and ability to separate and equalise tissue. The larger diameter of the cannula makes its larger, blunter tip less likely to perforate a vein or vessel. The fixed-angle cannula can be rotated to increase cannula efficiency using fewer passes, and also allows it to be oriented superficially to minimize deeper tissue penetration.

Such control is necessary for this final step. After treating the harvested fat, your surgeon needs to use this cannula to put the fat into the pockets they created. With clear pockets thanks to the vibrating cannula, your surgeon can successfully augment your buttocks by placing the fat into these demarcated areas. The vibration has the additional benefit of equally distributing the fat lobules throughout these areas.

With the EVL technique, your safety is basically guaranteed. The fat stays in the subcutaneous layer, and you can recover peacefully.

Recovering from Fat Grafting

The amazing thing about the MicroAire technique is its minimally invasive nature. Reversing this technique for EVL still has this benefit. Additionally, the cannula is very thin. Therefore, the incision for its insertion is equally thin. The resulting scar is practically nonexistent.

The recovery timeline reflected the minimal trauma caused during the procedure. The initial recovery time is only 1-3 days. This means that you are ready to resume your daily activities within 1-3 days. Additional swelling and bruising go away over the next few weeks. Every day the results improve and look better and better.

The Brazilian Butt Lift

Before going to the conclusion, let us discuss a widespread and popular procedure – the Brazilian butt lift.

You have almost definitely heard of this procedure. Its popularity is based on the demand for larger, more Latino-style butts. In this procedure, a considerable amount of fat is needed. Depending on the body size and gluteal dimensions of the patient, injection volumes range from 450 to 1100 mL or more per side.

Traditional techniques for injection of such large volumes of fat required long operating times and are now associated with surgeon fatigue and morbidities in the patient. Due to such conditions, EVL, as a technique was developed.

In Conclusion

Although fat grafting, particularly for buttock augmentation, was considered very dangerous, it is now completely safe. EVL ensures patient safety. Fat grafting also has a double advantage since it removes undesirable fat from one part of the body and uses it to augment another part.

It is due to the development of such techniques that plastic surgery is what it is today. With machines like MicroAire serving multiple purposes rather than the only liposuction, patients get much better results. The ultimate goal of any cosmetic surgery procedure is natural results. And fat grafting achieves this. EVL and MicroAire accomplish this.

Even in breast augmentation, the fact that the fat is from your own body makes a huge difference. It lowers the chance of capsular contracture substantially. Basically, EVL guarantees patient safety in a way that a traditional fat grafting method cannot.

Getting a surgeon who is well-versed in these techniques is essential. This means opting for a board-certified surgeon working in a well-equipped centre. The centre needs to have the MicroAire and VASER tools so it can meet your needs and give you the care you deserve. Your surgeon also needs to have a comprehensive understanding of how to use these tools. Only with such standards can you get a complete safety the EVL method guarantees. And, as a patient, you should settle for nothing less.

At RG Aesthetics, Dr Rajat Gupta is our leading plastic surgeon. With a board-certification as proof of his expertise in the field, Dr Gupta is one of the few plastic surgeons in the country who has mastered the EVL technique. He is also one of the few surgeons who know the complete ins and outs of the MicroAire and VASER tools at RG Aesthetics. He uses this expertise to go around the country, training his fellow surgeons. As someone who adheres to the highest standard of patient care, he believes that this is his duty. This way, he ensures the safety of not only his own patients but any patient of cosmetic surgery in the country!