Assistant Manager Kim from the Marketing Department keeps finding his eyes drawn to the question, “Did they do it, or did they not?”

[Life Team] The way people look at Assistant Manager Kim, who has just started his first day of work after being newly assigned to the Marketing Department, is anything but ordinary. From the break room to the hallways and stairs, people seem to be whispering everywhere in the company. The main topic of conversation among the men was whether he was a "D-cup" or an "E-cup," while the topic among the women was whether he was "100% surgically enhanced" or "naturally born."

It is understandable, given the emergence of numerous cosmetic surgery techniques these days, making it difficult to even determine whether surgery has actually been performed. Breast implants have also evolved in various ways, and even autologous fat grafting surgery, which involves extracting fat from one's own body and injecting it into the breast area instead of using artificial implants, has emerged, further enhancing naturalness.

With the emergence of such diverse surgical methods, women are seeking out the surgery that best suits their body type and preferences.

A new type of stem cell breast augmentation

Recently, so-called "stem cell breast augmentation," which involves extracting fat cells and stem cells from a patient's abdomen or thighs and transplanting them to the breasts and face to reduce volume, is gaining popularity. 

Until a few years ago, breast augmentation surgery was dominated by techniques that artificially created full breasts by inserting silicone or cohesive gel implants. However, starting in 2008, breast augmentation surgery involving extracting fat cells from the patient's abdomen and thighs and injecting them into the breasts emerged, and since 2011, this type of autologous fat graft breast augmentation has come to be recognized as the mainstream trend.

Stem cell breast augmentation is a surgical method that builds upon the basic form of autologous fat grafting and overcomes the limitation of being non-permanent. It can be described as a surgical method that covers all the disadvantages of conventional breast surgery by increasing the fat survival rate by more than double.

Implants vs. Autologous Fat Grafting

Generally, implant insertion offers definite results after surgery. However, the recovery period is long, and there are concerns regarding inflammation or implant rupture. Additionally, as one ages, firm breasts, unlike other parts of the body, can actually result in an unbalanced appearance.

Stem cell breast augmentation, a type of autologous fat grafting, involves transplanting the patient's own fat. Therefore, unlike implants, it does not cause a foreign body sensation and looks so natural that it is impossible to tell whether plastic surgery has been performed.

Since fat is injected via needle, there is less burden associated with surgery, and it has the advantage of a natural shape and feel of the breasts after the procedure. Above all, since breast augmentation and liposuction can be performed together in a single procedure, you can expect body shape transformation effects in a short period of time.

Differences from general autologous fat grafting surgery

However, conventional fat grafting has a limitation in that the fat is absorbed or lost by breast tissue within a few months. After injecting fat into the breasts, only 20 to 30 percent of it actually survives into the patient's own breasts. Stem cell breast augmentation can increase the fat survival rate to 70% by administering more than 7000 million adult stem cells.

Occasionally, a phenomenon called 'fat calcification' occurs, where a layer of fat that failed to engraft fails to exit the body and remains inside, hardening. Calcification is a complication that develops several months after fat grafting surgery and occurs when an excessive amount of fat is injected.

Autologous fat grafting, which involves simply transplanting fat, or PRP autologous fat grafting, which involves adding platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to fat, has a cell survival rate of less than 20-30%, which can lead to fat necrosis and calcification as the amount of fat is excessively increased.

Stem Cell Breast Augmentation: What Makes It Different?

Although stem cells are present in all fat cells, there is a significant difference in engraftment rates between extracting fat from the abdomen and injecting it directly into the breasts, and separating stem cells and mixing them with fat cells in a specific ratio before injection.

This is because stem cells induce tissue proliferation, enabling fat cells to establish themselves well in the breast.

On the other hand, there are cases where excessive fat is intentionally injected to avoid the large-scale absorption and loss of fat cells into the breast tissue.

However, this can lead to side effects where fat cells cannot breathe and necrose or calcified.

Therefore, in stem cell breast surgery, it is more important to inject an appropriate amount of fat to ensure a high engraftment rate rather than injecting a large amount. Dr. Shin Dong-jin of SC301 stated, “Since the effectiveness of the surgery depends on the careful harvesting process to avoid damaging fat cells, the method of isolating only pure fat, and the appropriate mixing ratio and arrangement of stem cells and fat, the surgeon must accumulate extensive experience.”
(Photo courtesy of: SC301)

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