Fat injection to the breast is not a new idea, but it has always been controversial.

In particular, it has been feared that breast augmentation with autologous fat could lead to the formation of calcifications and cysts that might hinder mammagraphic examinations for detection of possible breast cancer.

The authors report their experience with fat transplantation in the breast (lipomodeling) covering 880 procedures performed over the past 10 years.

They review their technique and results, and describe the various indications for which they have found lipomodeling to be appropriate.

Lipomodeling was generally performed under general anesthesia.

Fat was harvested from the abdomen or in some cases from the inner thighs, depending on the patient's natural fat deposits.

The harvested fat was centrifuged to obtain purified fat, which was transferred to 10-mL syringes for injection directly into the breast.

Fat was injected in small quantities under light pressure, utilizing a honeycomb of microtunnels and halting when the recipient tissues were saturated to avoid creation of fatty pools that could lead to fat necrosis.

We compensate for fat resorption, 140 mL of fat was injected for a desired final volume of 100 mL.