Dr. Sam Lam Plastic Surgery Forum

Greetings from Austin:

Somebody who knew I had fat transfer done (with you) asked me if it could be used to fill in "dents" from lumpectomy (breast). I said "i doubt it" but thought I'd ask you too.

HI!!!
haven't heard from you for a while. the answer is sort of. the history of fat grafting actually started in 1898 ish with someone cutting out fat from the belly and placing it into the breast to restore the breast contour. obviously, with a big lump of fat there was no blood supply so it did not last.

as far as modern fat grafting techniques, i know of some surgeons who are using fat grafting for breast augmentation but none for post mastectomy or lumpectomy issues (that i know of). here are the concerns:
1. the mid 1980s the plastic surgery society has roundly condemned use of fat grafting for the breast for fear of the calcification that could occur in the breast following a fat graft that may make someone misread a cancer. now more recent thinking (but the official position statement remains) goes against that and says that any calcifications that occur following a fat transfer can be readily distinguished from cancerous varieties. since i have no experience with breast augmentation, i cannot speak with certainty nor do i have experience with fat grafting for the breast (and have no interest in doing so) nor do i have experience with breast cancer so she should do her own research.
2. i truly believe that the fat coming from the belly or thighs has the most resilience toward loss when transplanted and offers also an abundant supply to transplant. that can also be a negative. as i say, i am always fearful of placing fat asymmetrically like to one side because i believe that over time with weight changes the area could look bulgy vis-a-vis non transplanted areas. that is why when i work on a face i perform a very delicate blended treatment rather than target specific areas. hope that makes sense.
thanks for the question!
best,
sml

Yes makes sense, thanks so much for quick reply. As always, a very informed answer. YOu are too good. Just got back from Singapore, you ever b een there on your world travels? Too humid for me, but quite interesting otherwise. Makes me glad to live in Texas with HUGE lawns and the like! ha ha.

glad you are back. as you may know, i travelled in asia for about 5 months after my fellowship to learn asian cosmetic surgery better. i only swung through singapore as a stopover so technically i have been there but only the airport. haha. i love singapore airlines. i don't know if you know the hiring practices over there but the flight attendants must audition in a bikini. don't think that would really pass mustard over here in the states without a lawsuit. i also read a book on how singapore airlines works with scent branding, which is interesting too. i was talking to a singapore plastic surgeon last year at a meeting and he was constantly trying to improve acne scarring on an individual just so that she could pass the singapore airlines interview process. big cultural differences. just thought i would pass that interesting information along. glad you had a good time!

Yes i did go on Singapore Airlines from LAX. Business class too (over there was a business class only plane). The place I did the work for in Singapore paid for it. I'd never do that, it is expensive. I'm too cheap. Boy, was that nice (as is the airport in singapore, beats my all-time favorite, VANCOUVER in canada which is just fabulous!)

Yes the plane did smell nice, I noticed that. Especially the bathrooms! They even had fresh flowers in the bathroom.

I am not surprised on the interview. Those flight attendants are beautiful women (and men). They are so nice and friendly. Not only would the bikini interview not pass mustard in the states, but neither would the 'be friendly.' Okay that's mean, but I did give up my FF credit card with a major carrier in the states (that might be located next to you) b/c of their repeated SNARL when flying on them. And this is not the one that Gary Kelly is in charge of! The other one.

haha. if you want to see some great airports: pudong (shanghai), incheon (seoul), and hong kong, which i wrote about in my asian travel blogs a few months ago.