How Do Positions of Nipple and Inframammary Fold Change After Autologous Breast Augmentation with Fat Grafting?

Background: Breast augmentation with autologous fat grafting was widely used. However, it is unclear how does this kind of surgery affect the morphologic change of breast. This study aimed to explore the change of nipple and inframammary fold (IMF) levels, which are important aesthetic landmarks of breast that further explore whether this kind of surgery could correct the asymmetry of nipple and IMF.

Methods: Preoperative and postoperative measurements were performed in the patients who received fat grafting with or without fasciotomy. The position levels of nipple and IMF were measured. The preoperative and postoperative discrepancies and the difference of these levels after surgery were also calculated.

Results: As for the IMF asymmetry, in the fasciotomy plus fat grafting group, the asymmetry was significantly reduced after surgery, while there was no significant difference in the fat grafting group. As for the nipple asymmetry, fat grafting could not correct the asymmetry in both fasciotomy plus fat grafting group and fat grafting group. As for the morphological change after surgery, both nipple and IMF were descended significantly after surgery. The descending range of IMF in the preoperative higher group was larger than the preoperative lower group. On the preoperative IMF higher side, descending degree of IMF was significantly larger in the fasciotomy plus fat grafting group than fat grafting group.

Conclusions: Fat grafting with fasciotomy can improve IMF asymmetry but cannot improve nipple asymmetry. Both IMF and nipple were lowered somehow after surgery, which might be related to the breast enlargement.

Level Of Evidence Iv: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.