Breast reconstruction with fat grafting and BRAVA(®) pre-expansion: Efficacy evaluation in 45 cases

Fat grafting for breast surgery, in reconstruction or aesthetics, gained a lot of popularity over the last years. As an addition to breast reconstruction with flaps or prosthesis, lipofilling improved the aesthetic result, increasing the patients' satisfaction rate. The demand for breast reconstruction using only fat grafting increased, because patients want a natural result in breast reconstruction and also the body contouring associated with liposuction of specified fat areas. The pre-expansion BRAVA(®) system has been used for several years in the United States to prepare the receiving site for lipofilling. We wanted to gain our own experience in associating BRAVA-lipofilling in breast reconstruction. The aim of our study is to evaluate the BRAVA efficiency as an adjuvant for fat grafting in breast surgery.

A retrospective study was undertaken, using a homogenous series of consecutive patients, operated by one surgeon (the first author), that had breast reconstruction using only fat grafts associated with BRAVA(®).

The retrospective homogenous study identified 45 cases of breast surgery associating fat grafting alone with BRAVA(®) assistance. The number of intervention of fat grafting associating BRAVA(®) was 1 or 2 for conservative treatment sequelae or for flap reconstruction improvement, and 2 to 4 for immediate and delayed breast reconstruction. The total volume of fat grafting was 205 cc for the contralateral balancing, 317 cc for flap reconstructions, 531 cc for the conservative treatment sequelae, 790 cc for the immediate breast reconstruction and 1165 cc for the delayed breast reconstruction. The satisfaction rate of the surgical team and the patients was satisfying and very satisfied in 82% of cases, average in 8% of cases, and insufficient in 10% of cases.

Breast reconstruction with fat grafting alone is, in our experience, a reliable and reproducible technique, that gives excellent and stable results. The high satisfaction rate of patients is explained by the supple and natural consistency of the new breast, with no added scars, associating the benefits of liposuction of the donor sites. The BRAVA(®) system seems to be, in cases with good indications, an adjuvant for receiving site preparation, making the reconstruction easier for the surgeon and for the patient. We believe that breast reconstruction with fat grafting alone is going to become more popular in the future. Associating fat grafting with BRAVA(®) creates a new way of natural breast reconstruction for the patients with mastectomy that want a stable result with less aggressive procedures. It is a new tool that is going to increase the autologous breast reconstruction in France.