Types of Breast Augmentation: Fat Grafting, Stem Cells or Implants? How They Differ <Advice from 20 Years of Research Experience>

I am looking into breast augmentation,

but there are so many types

that I do not know which one to choose..

Besides implants,

there is autologous fat grafting / stem cells,

and I hear these methods are sometimes combined..

Which one would be best?

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A few notes before we begin.

Types of breast augmentation

keeps to a principle of 3 surgeries / 6 consultations per surgeon per day.

3,023 implant augmentations performed <as of last year>

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Data source: Korea's Medical Device Electronic Civil Service portal

has been mandatory since 2019.

Captured on: 2025.08.01

U&U performs breast surgery only.

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For those living far away —

the One-Day breast augmentation system

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Consultation rooms for visitors from China, Vietnam, and other countries

A visit from a Chinese influencer

Since we limit the number of surgeries / consultations per day,

we may not be able to help everyone, so we share the material below.

Over the past 2 years, in a moms' community,

we held Q&A sessions on breast augmentation —

this is the collected volume.

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〈 Q&A held in a moms' community 〉

From breast augmentation side effects to when the natural feel returns — the questions and answers are gathered in one place,

so if you are preparing for a consultation, please check the post below.

[Free PDF] A 2-Year Collection of Breast Augmentation Q&As from a Moms' Community

We have been researching breast surgery for 20 years, but in the past, breast augmentation was …

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Hello — we are U&U Plastic Surgery.

We currently perform breast surgery only, primarily with implants.

Depending on the case, we also perform hybrid breast augmentation that adds fat grafting.

We have spent 20 years researching breast augmentation exclusively.

So we are writing this article to explain the pros and cons of the 3 types of breast augmentation (fat grafting / stem cells / implants).

〈 A record of 20 years devoted solely to breast augmentation research 〉

2000s — listed as an author of breast surgery papers in the Journal of the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons

〈 Presentations at the Korean Society of Plastic Surgeons / Breast Plastic Surgery Study Group 〉

Types of breast augmentation

Fat grafting vs stem cells vs implants

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Let us sum it up briefly in a <table>.

Implants

Autologous fat grafting

Stem-cell

fat grafting

Average increase of 1.5~3 cups or more possible

Average increase of about 0.5~1 cup

Average 1~1.5 cups

increase possible

After surgery,

results hold, with regular checkups to watch the implant over time

After the procedure,

50% is absorbed

Retention after 1 year or more varies widely between studies

Side-effect risk: high

Side-effect risk: moderate

Side-effect risk: moderate

Which of these 3 is the best fit?

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I would like you to first consider what breast shape you want.

When it comes to shape, fat grafting alone has certain limits in creating a beautiful breast shape.

1) Fat tissue was never meant to maintain the shape of the breast in the first place.

2) The breast is an area under the influence of gravity 365 days a year.

3) Also, when fat is grafted, how much is absorbed differs between the upper and lower breast.

That is why shapes like the UU line or upper-breast volume are hard to create with fat grafting alone.

Still, implants somehow feel scary..

Could I try fat grafting first,

and if I am not happy with it,

get implant surgery then..?

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In most cases, this is not a problem.

However, a few tricky issues arise during surgery.

1. When previous fat grafting

has left fat that clumped into lumps

or calcified tissue

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If this applies to you, even with implant surgery the breast line may be less smooth, or lumps may remain palpable.

2. Compared to others,

an increased chance of bleeding during implant surgery.

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In fat grafting, a cannula is inserted into the chest muscle / fascia / fat layers.

( * Cannula: the needle used for fat grafting )

This process leaves tiny wounds in the pectoralis major, the glandular layer, and so on. As a result, when you later have breast surgery, the chance of bleeding becomes higher.

The study above examined breast augmentation performed with fat grafting.

Rather than a study of specific patients, think of it as a report compiled from the latest research data.

That research also points out that more bleeding can occur in breast surgery after fat grafting.

About 10 years ago, appearing on the TV program 'Let Me In' as a board-certified plastic surgeon

Using implants is not necessarily the answer.

Rather than choosing fat grafting simply because it feels less daunting than implants,

we hope you choose your type of breast augmentation after deeply considering what breasts you truly want.

We hope no one has fat grafting without such consideration, only to undergo implant surgery later under riskier conditions.

For those researching types of breast augmentation, this is everything I have prepared.

Finally, for those looking into implant augmentation, we attach one more column.

It sums up what you need to know when considering implant surgery.

Breast augmentation consultation? Prepare 'this way'. <Source: materials from a world-renowned authority in breast surgery>

Hello, this is U&U Plastic Surgery.

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It was compiled from actual breast surgery procedures and research data, so please be sure to read it as you prepare for your consultation.

U&U Plastic Surgery — taking part in a Seoul National University symposium

U&U Plastic Surgery currently keeps to a principle of 3 surgeries / 6 consultations per surgeon per day.

If you would like a consultation to arrange your schedule,

please book through 'Naver Booking' via the map below.

Thank you for reading this long article.

This has been U&U Plastic Surgery — a clinic born of 20 years of research devoted solely to the breast.

〈 This is what U&U Plastic Surgery is like 〉

Introducing U&U Plastic Surgery: why we have done only breast surgery for 20 years

U&U Plastic Surgery is a plastic surgery clinic that treats only the breast.

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Introducing our in-house breast surgeon and our anesthesiology & pain medicine specialists.

Most people considering breast augmentation look closely at the board-certified plastic surgeon — the operating surg…

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U&U Plastic Surgery Clinic

Myungkwang Building, 819 Nonhyeon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul