Don't: Move or massage the treated area for a few days post-op to avoid disturbing the fat cells before they can “settle in”
Avoid massage
While it may be tempting to massage your newly placed fat, Dr. Ho Taghva strongly advises against doing so, as it disrupts the new blood supply to the transferred tissue.
ACTIVITY AFTER FAT TRANSFER TREATMENT
Avoid bending, lifting, or straining for one to two weeks.
Pain medications will be prescribed to control post-op discomfort. Should I massage my breast after fat transfer? No, you should not massage your breast for a few weeks following fat grafting to the breast as it can dislodge the transferred fats.
“One of the things that we wanna look at right away when we talk about starving fat off our body but not actually starving ourselves is intermittent fasting,” he says, citing research finding that a 24-hour fasting period is the most effective in helping you starve the fat cells on your body, “which you're trying to ...
(Please also be aware that anything else that can constrict blood supply – even caffeine – has the potential to affect the survival of the fat graft.)
While lumps after fat grafting can be concerning, they aren't cancerous, nor do they increase breast cancer probability. Nevertheless, they should be checked and removed, as they can be painful and cause the breasts to appear misshapen.
Hard lumps are not common after fat transfer to the breasts, but they happen occasionally and may raise alarm. Lumps can form when some of the donor tissue doesn't get enough blood. The fat deposits that don't survive turn into hard scar tissue that may or may not go away with time.
When breast implants are not regularly massaged, you may be exposed to an increased risk of capsular contracture. This condition occurs when the fibrous capsule that naturally forms around the implant tightens, causing the breast to feel hard and potentially resulting in discomfort and an unnatural appearance.
The treated areas will probably be quite bruised and swollen for a few weeks. You may want to take a couple of weeks off work. It can take up to 6 months for a surgical fat transfer to fully take effect, as some of the injected fat may be reabsorbed by your body during the first few months after the procedure.
Firmness, lumpiness, or asymmetry may occur also. If some of the fat does not survive the transfer, it may actually “die” and become firm and cause discomfort. Cysts may form at the transfer site and require a procedure to remove. A symmetrical body appearance unfortunately may not result from a fat transfer procedure.
Women who received implants or fat transfer breast augmentation typically need to sleep inclined on their back for about two weeks. They can sleep flat on their backs after the 2nd week.
Massage also helps reduce stress, which causes your body to store more fat. Since massage can help break down the fat already stored in your body, it can also reduce the appearance of cellulite to give you a smooth, toned look. For healthy diet and exercise tips, check out our healthy eating and fitness articles.
You should be resting the remainder of the day of surgery, but be sure to walk around a few times per day. During the first week, do not lift over 10 pounds. It is important that you not engage in strenuous activities in the first 3 weeks after surgery.
Your body can't reject the transferred fat since it's your own tissue.
Meaning doctors couldn't predict fat reabsorption rates, and it was common for patients to lose most of the fat transferred in the first year. With the unpredictable nature, many patients were left with the results of being overfilled, underfilled, or left with fat in areas where they didn't want it.
Early lumps or fullness after filler injections or fat transfer can be related to post-procedural swelling. Needle entry points can cause small lumps as can movement of a needle or cannula (injection tube) under the skin. Fluid or edema can ensue after treatment that is a physiologic response to injury.
If you feel hard bumps or lumps in your breasts, this may be a sign that your implants need to be replaced. Often, these lumps are caused by capsular contracture, which is a condition where the scar capsule contracts and squeezes the implant.
[25] Timing is important in the evaluation of these patients as local recurrence of malignancy tends to occur in the first 1 to 5 years after surgery, whereas most of these changes of fat necrosis happen within weeks to months after surgery.
Use ice packs liberally in the areas of the face where fat was transplanted for the first 3 days after surgery. This minimizes swelling. If you have any discomfort in the body area where fat was harvested, you can use ice packs for the first couple of days.
You will be able to sleep on your back and your side after six weeks. Until then, you will need to sleep on your stomach to avoid putting pressure on the fat grafted areas. We cannot emphasize enough how important it is to adhere to these post-op aftercare and sleeping instructions. Dr.
Should I wear a bra after fat transfer to the breast? Avoid wearing a tight bra or anything with an underwire and heavy padding for four to six weeks.