Purpose
There remains a paucity of literature examining high volume fat grafting (FG) for minimally invasive autologous breast reconstruction. We sought to outline the reconstructive timeline of patients undergoing total autologous FG and FG after Goldilocks mastectomies.
Methods
A retrospective review evaluated patients who underwent breast reconstruction with FG only or combined Goldilocks and FG. The minimum follow-up period was 4 months. Data was collected concerning the volume of fat injected and the timeline of reconstruction.
Results
Our population included 39 breast reconstructions in 25 patients. Nineteen patients (28 breasts) had FG only and 6 patients had Goldilocks and FG (11 breasts). The FG only group averaged 4 grafting sessions while the Goldilocks combined group averaged 2.64 sessions (p=0.03). In the FG only group the average total volume injected was 663.61 mL per breast, compared to 495.45 mL in the Goldilocks combined group (p=0.111). In the FG only group a comparable volume of fat was injected in the first five sessions, with a significant drop at the sixth session (p=0.013). There were four FG related complications that required minor surgical intervention and no cancer reoccurrences.
Conclusion
High volume FG is a successful form of breast reconstruction and achieves good volume with minimal procedures necessary, especially when combined with Goldilocks mastectomies. This study depicts a reliable timeline for an underused reconstructive option.
High-volume fat grafting reconstructive timeline
