Fat Transfer and Mammograms: Questions Resurface
Just as enthusiasm for breast augmentation via fat transfer has begun to pick up speed, news from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons suggested that renewed caution is in order.
Last month, a team of researchers at a Beijing hospital, led by Dr. Cong-Feng Wang, published a study in the ASPS journal, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, of 48 women who had undergone fat transfer to the breasts. Of the group of patients, six were found to have irregularities in their breast tissue in follow up mammograms. What’s more, in every one of the cases the abnormalities were judged to be “highly suspicious” of breast cancer. Noting the alarming rate of incidence of what they call “mammographic confusion,” Wang and his team called for the procedure to be banned (ASPS1).
The good news is that none of the six women was found to actually have a tumor. Instead, the irregular tissue proved to be microcalcifications related to fat cell necrosis, or death (ASPS1).
The bad news is that the study seems to point to a double-whammy regarding fat transfer to the breasts. Not only is some of the fat not surviving for some patients, reducing the augmentation effect they were seeking, the likelihood of false positive breast cancer tests is high. Women then need further procedures to get to the bottom of the irregularity in breast tissue, causing increased hassle, worry and expense.
This news from the ASPS is somewhat ironic. A couple of decades ago, the group voiced strong objections to the fat transfer procedure, based on the possibility of interference with breast cancer diagnoses (ASPS1). Then, more recent studies caused the ASPS to moderate that stance, citing a French study that showed that fat transfer did not pose a problem with cancer screening. In fact, the organization issued a press release just several weeks ago noting that even while some women develop calcifications in their breast tissue after fat transfer, these would not normally mimic breast cancer (ASPS2). Now, the ASPS is calling for more research.
What does all this mean to you?
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