'Breast Augmentation' Lacks That 2% of Its Slightness with Autologous Fat Alone: ​​How to Increase Graft Survival Rates?

'Stem cell breast augmentation' is gaining popularity because it has a higher engraftment rate than autologous fat grafting and, unlike implants, offers a natural feel and breast line. ⓒHealthO

Ms. Ji (28, female), a new swimming instructor, began to have worries she hadn't had before when she started teaching last year. She started to feel stressed by the teasing from the children in her swimming class. She usually had no major complaints about her physique, which was toned through exercise. However, the children would make comments about her appearance, such as, "Teacher, your front and back look exactly the same." She couldn't understand why they would go out of their way to say such things, but she couldn't get angry at the innocent children, so she would often just laugh it off. 

However, stress reached its peak when she even acquired the nickname 'Kickboard Teacher' (a flat board that helps one float during swimming practice). Seeing how she couldn't bring herself to answer her friends even when they asked her countless times, 'Is my chest really that flat?', she decided to consider breast augmentation.

Breast augmentation is broadly categorized into implant breast augmentation, which uses implants, and autologous fat grafting, which involves transplanting the patient's own fat. The advantage of implant surgery is that it provides a noticeable cosmetic effect in a single procedure. However, a significant number of women are hesitant to undergo this procedure due to concerns about side effects such as capsular contracture (hardening of the breast tissue), an unnatural appearance, and a foreign body sensation. While autologous fat grafting is said to address the drawbacks of implant surgery, it is disappointing because the engraftment rate is low and the volume quickly diminishes.

In such cases, 'stem cell autologous fat grafting' can be an alternative. Stem cell breast augmentation complements the shortcomings of both implant surgery and autologous fat grafting. While it varies from person to person, approximately 1000 cc of fat can be extracted for a person with an average body type. The harvested fat is separated into microfat and injected using a syringe. Typically, the amount of fat transplanted to one breast is about 200 to 250 cc, similar to the size of commonly used implants. Stem cell breast augmentation follows the same steps up to this point. 

The following process is the key to increasing the engraftment rate. Since stem cells are attached to fat cells, micro-holes with a diameter of 3 mm are first made one by one in the abdomen and thighs to extract the fat. The fat to be directly injected into the breasts is set aside, while the remaining fat is placed into a stem cell extraction machine and operated; after about an hour and a half, the fat cells break down, and the stem cells are separated. The stimulated stem cells become active, producing vascular endothelial cells to aid in blood vessel formation. These stem cells are then mixed with the fat set aside and injected into the breasts.

In this case, the foreign sensation caused by the insertion of implants can be minimized, and the low engraftment rate (20-30%), which was a limitation of simple fat grafting surgery, can be raised to 70%. 

Dr. Shin Dong-jin, director of SC301 Clinic, stated, “Stem cell breast augmentation looks more natural than autologous fat grafting because it uses the patient’s own stem cells, which can be likened to a balloon,” adding, “You can think of it as swelling up to maintain the original shape of your breasts.”

He continued, “Unlike implants, the texture and breast line are natural because they are my own breasts, but it is difficult to create the desired size,” explaining, “because the engraftment rate varies from person to person, and the engraftment rate and results after surgery do not match up like a mathematical formula.” 

Director Shin Dong-jin established the first guidelines in Korea suitable for stem cell plastic surgery. Since 2009, he has been presenting at domestic and international academic conferences, including the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. In his master's thesis from Shandong University School of Medicine in China, which was approved last August, he demonstrated a high fat engraftment rate of over 70% due to the effects of stem cells, thereby enhancing the credibility of the procedure. 

He particularly emphasized the safety of this procedure. Director Shin Dong-jin stated, “The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has recognized the use of stem cells extracted from the patient’s own fat as a legitimate medical procedure.” He introduced the results, saying, “An analysis of the postoperative progress of 120 patients aged 21 to 54 who underwent stem cell autologous fat grafting at SC301 Clinic from January to December 2010 showed that two weeks after surgery, the breast protrusion height of the 120 patients was an average of 13.68 mm higher than before the surgery.” He added, “Six months later, after the swelling had subsided and the surgical site had stabilized to some extent, the protrusion height of the 16 patients who visited the clinic averaged 9.2 mm, and most patients were satisfied with the surgical results.”