This blog discusses the topic of preparing for fat grafting and liposuction, including the expert opinions of Dr. Strawn of Scultura Plastic Surgery. Other topics include why patients should avoid gaining weight before liposuction, how the fat grafting process works, and which procedures are often combined or enhanced with fat grafting.
6 Min Read:
Table of Contents
- An Expert Weighs In: Why You Shouldn’t Gain Weight Before Lipo and Fat Grafting
- What Is Fat Grafting?
- Why Choose Dr. Strawn for Your Fat Grafting?
- How Should I Prepare for Fat Grafting and Liposuction?
- Interested in Total Correction Explantation with Fat Grafting in Newport Beach, CA?
An Expert Weighs In: Why You Shouldn’t Gain Weight Before Lipo and Fat Grafting
If you’re considering fat grafting, you might have heard rumors that it’s a good idea to gain weight before the liposuction process so you’ll end up with more donor fat—well, we’re here to tell you that’s not the best idea, according to Newport Beach’s premier explantation super specialist and fat transfer expert, Dr. Jon Bradley Strawn.
While it may seem like a logical plan (more fat = more fat in areas you want it, right?), it’s actually best to be at your healthiest weight before surgery. Keep reading to learn more about the fat grafting process, Dr. Strawn’s philosophy on the subject, and how to best prepare for your procedure.
What Is Fat Grafting?
Before we dig into the details, it’s important to understand how the fat grafting procedure works. Fat grafting, or fat transfer, is an advanced cosmetic procedure designed to add volume to desired areas of the body. It’s been popularized by its use in Brazilian Butt Lifts, but it also provides beautiful results when added to facial procedures, and more popularly, for a “natural” breast augmentation.
Fat grafting is a two-part process in which your surgeon uses liposuction to harvest donor fat from one area of the body before reinjecting it into another to the desired contour. In this way, it provides a dual result: slimming and contouring in one area, and increased volume and curves in another.
Fat grafting, when performed by a highly experienced and knowledgeable surgeon, truly can work wonders, but the benefits don’t stop there. Because you are using your own fat, or autologous fat, there is no risk that the body will reject the grafted fat, making it a much safer option than fillers or silicone (silicone should never be injected freely into the body, by the way).
It’s also long-lasting, even permanent, once the fat survives in its new location. But it’s not a simple process, as your surgeon has to be skilled enough to not only create natural-looking contours when removing the fat via liposuction, and then the reinjection process is a skill unto itself, as they must carefully layer the fat so that it looks natural, provides the desired volume, and reaches viable blood supplies. Without the care of a knowledgeable surgeon, fat grafting can go wrong quickly, resulting in necrosis or overabsorption of the new fat cells.
Why Choose Dr. Strawn for Your Fat Grafting?
Dr. Strawn performs fat grafting nearly every day in his practice, as he incorporates this revolutionary procedure into his signature full correction explant surgery. As the explantation super specialist, Dr. Strawn does more than remove breast implants: he gives his patients the breast enhancement makeover they’ve always wanted, just without painful implants.
In this procedure, Dr. Strawn removes the breast implants in an en bloc capsulectomy while repairing the internal structures of the breasts and muscles. Then, he performs a breast lift, giving patients a youthful and desirable breast shape using their own natural tissue. And lastly, he incorporates fat grafting to restore some natural volume to the breasts. The results are stunning: naturally contoured, healthy breasts without the need for implants. And when fat grafting with liposuction is included, Dr. Strawn masterfully contours the abdomen, buttocks, or thighs for a complete body sculpting result that complements the details of the enhanced breasts.
At Scultura Plastic Surgery, Dr. Strawn and his supportive team are committed to advocating for their patients in any way they need, providing custom breast enhancement results that improve their physical and emotional lives, and establishing long-term relationships. It’s because of this that Dr. Strawn always urges his patients to do what’s best for themselves and their health, including preparing for surgery by maintaining a healthy weight.
How Should I Prepare for Fat Grafting and Liposuction?
Whenever you remove fat cells via liposuction or when you move them to another location with fat grafting, they aren’t stuck in one state–they also don’t grow back. But the ones still in the area can certainly expand if you gain weight, just as they can in their new location on the breasts or other areas of the body. This is the primary reason we encourage patients to find their ideal weight and adhere to it as closely as possible.
Dr. Strawn tells his patients not to worry about having “enough” fat to harvest via liposuction: it’s about your health first and foremost—he’ll find the fat that’s needed for the rest of the procedure. The most popular areas to harvest fat include the abdomen, hips, or thighs, but if you don’t have a lot of fat there, or you don’t want to contour those areas, that’s okay. Other areas that can be treated with liposuction include the knees, around the armpits, and even under the chin.
According to Dr. Strawn, the best thing you can do to prepare for fat grafting is to simply be as healthy as you can. This will aid in the surgical process, as well as the recovery process, and it’ll give you a great baseline to maintain your health beyond recovery, as weight fluctuations can cause changes to your final results.
Your health and happiness are the top priorities. Don’t worry about gaining weight to have enough fat—Dr. Strawn will work with you to provide the most satisfying and safe results.
Interested in Total Correction Explantation with Fat Grafting in Newport Beach, CA?
Call Scultura Plastic Surgery today at (949) 612-7231 or fill out the contact form to learn more about the fat grafting process, breast implant removal, or how Dr. Strawn can help you achieve your breast and body goals.
