The Increasing Utility of the Lipoflap Fat Transfer Procedure (LAFT) in Breast Reconstruction

Increasingly I am utilizing the Lipoflap Autologous Fat Transfer procedure to help patients with unsatisfactory breast reconstruction results after breast cancer reconstruction. The most frequent use of this procedure is to improve or salvage the outcome after breast implant and expander reconstruction procedures. In the United States, the most common method of breast reconstruction after mastectomy is the placement of a tissue expander, with subsequent expansion, and then final implant placement.  Less frequently this procedure may be combined with a latissimus dorsi muscle flap procedure to provide better tissue coverage over the expander and implant.

Even in the best of circumstances, expander placement and expansion results in thinning of the skin over the expander as the expander is inflated, just as the skin of a ballon gets thinner as a balloon is blown up. When the final implant is placed