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Primary—but not secondary—adjuvant fat transfer is associated with good patient satisfaction in mammoplasty: a single centre retrospective case series

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Abstract

Background

Due to its unpredictable retention rate, using autologous fat alone for the enhancement of breast volume is often unsatisfactory. To overcome this limitation, fat transfer has been proposed as an immediate adjuvant procedure to aesthetic breast surgery, creating the concept of hybrid mammoplasty.

Fat transfer has already been shown to correct minor defects with good clinical outcome, but the amount of fat that can be safely transferred has not yet been identified. Our hypothesis is that contour improvement with small-volume fat transfer as a primary adjuvant treatment can lead to a better patient outcome.

Methods

A retrospective single-centre uncontrolled case series study was conducted on 70 patients who underwent hybrid mammoplasties for aesthetic purposes only. Primary and secondary cases were included and divided into corresponding groups. An ad-hoc outcome scale based on clinical parameters was created to standardise results; results were analysed after a follow-up period of at least 12 months.

Results

The overall results were reported as good in 48.7% of cases, moderate in 32.8%, and sufficient in 18.5%. Primary cases with small deformities showed a better outcome on our scale compared to revisional ones (57.4% good compared to 29%; p = 0.038). A transferred volume of fat up to 100 ml was associated with a higher retention rate (OR = 2.3; p = 0.032).

Conclusions

Small breast contour deformities or prosthesis coverage can be easily corrected with fat transfer. Based on our score system, this technique is indicated for volume enhancement up to 100 ml; beyond that the outcome quality decreases, and further corrections would be needed.

Level of evidence: Level IV, Therapeutic.

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Funding

The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Department, Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, UK

    Giovanni Zoccali

  2. Department of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, IRCCS National Cancer Institute “Regina Elena”, Via Elio Chianesi 53, 00144, Rome, Italy

    Giovanni Zoccali

  3. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Department, Policlinic of Modena, Modena, Italy

    Barbara Pompei

  4. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Department, Guy’s and St. Thomas Hospital, London, UK

    Jian Farhadi

  5. Plastic Surgery Group, Zurich, Switzerland

    Jian Farhadi

  6. University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

    Jian Farhadi

Authors
  1. Giovanni Zoccali
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  2. Barbara Pompei
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  3. Jian Farhadi
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Zoccali, Pompei, and Farhadi. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Zoccali, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Giovanni Zoccali.

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Ethical Approval

Local Ethical Committee approved the study protocol. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Consent to participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Conflict of interest

Giovanni Zoccali, Barbara Pompei, and Jian Farhadi declare no competing interests.

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Zoccali, G., Pompei, B. & Farhadi, J. Primary—but not secondary—adjuvant fat transfer is associated with good patient satisfaction in mammoplasty: a single centre retrospective case series. Eur J Plast Surg 46, 351–360 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00238-022-02011-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00238-022-02011-7

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