BRAVA® Preparation for Breast Augmentation or Reconstruction with Lipofilling (Fat Grafting)

Central Florida including Orlando and Winter Park

The likelihood of achieving significant, long-lasting results with lipofilling for breast augmentation and reconstruction can be significantly enhanced with the BRAVA® device protocol. Preparing the tissues of the breast with the BRAVA® device protocol has been shown to increase the success rate of lipofilling for breast augmentation and reconstruction.

The use of the BRAVA® device protocol for breast augmentation and reconstruction for cancer patients is investigational and is only open to patients enrolled in studies to test its effectiveness. The Bougainvillea Clinique in Winter Park, Florida, is currently enrolling patients for participation in the study. To learn whether you qualify for this study, please contact us today.

What Is Tissue Preparation?

Tissue preparation means expanding the breast in preparation for injection with fat. Tissue preparation has long been used in breast reconstruction. The tissue expander used in breast reconstruction is an inflatable balloon that is gradually filled with saline solution to help the tissues grow to receive either a breast implant or a tissue graft from elsewhere in the body. In traditional breast enlargement, no expander is used--the implant is placed directly in the breast, which then stretches in response.

The BRAVA® system is an external tissue expander. It applies suction to the breasts to encourage them to grow, creating room for the placement of lipofiller. The diagrams on this page illustrate the concept. 

The mesh diagrams illustrate how expanding the tissues is like stretching a mesh to create more space between the mesh itself.

The Benefits of Tissue Preparation

When fat is injected into an area of tissue that has not been prepared, that graft faces numerous challenges. It must find access to a blood supply that can support it, and since the area is now under pressure because of the injected tissue, blood vessels are constricted and access to blood is limited. As a result of these challenges, only about 30-50% of fat used for breast augmentation survives.

Tissue preparation, on the other hand:

• Makes room for injected tissue
• Reduces pressure on graft
• Increases blood supply to treatment area

As a result, the survival rate for tissue grafts can be as high as 90% after tissue expansion. This means that instead of 6-8 treatments to achieve your desired results, you may need only 3-4. And your results may be improved. While breast augmentation without tissue expansion achieves an enlargement of about 150 cc (5 ounces, about 1 bra cup size), with tissue expansion, you may be able to achieve augmentation of about 250 cc (8.5 ounces, nearly 2 cup sizes).

Enroll in a BRAVA® Study

The BRAVA® system is currently approved only for breast augmentation without fat grafting. If you are looking to use the BRAVA® system with fat grafting, then you should be enrolled in this study, which is being conducted at a number of plastic surgery practices across the country.

To learn more about this study or other breast augmentation options, please contact us today to schedule a consultation with board certified plastic surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Hartog, serving patients in the Orlando, Florida area.

4355 Bear Gully Road
Winter Park, FL 32792
407-678-3116