In most instances of fat-graft breast augmentation, the increase is of modest volume, usually only one bra cup size or less,[2] which is thought to be the physiological limit allowed by the metabolism of the human body.

Modern-day versions of saline breast implants are manufactured with thicker, room-temperature vulcanized (RTV) shells made of a silicone elastomer.

[8] The modern prosthetic breast was invented in 1961, by the American plastic surgeons Thomas Cronin and Frank Gerow, and manufactured by the Dow Corning Corporation; in due course, the first augmentation mammoplasty was performed in 1962.

Furthermore, most of the women reported long-term satisfaction with their breast implants; some despite having had medical complications that required surgical revision, either corrective or aesthetic.

[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][excessive citations] The Cosmeticsurgery.com article They Need Bosoms, too – Women Weight Lifters (2013) reported that women weight-lifters have resorted to breast augmentation surgery to maintain a feminine physique, and so compensate for the loss of breast mass consequent to the increased lean-body mass and decreased body-fat consequent to lifting weights.

Therefore, before agreeing to any surgical procedure, the plastic surgeon evaluates and considers the woman's mental health to determine if breast implants can positively affect her self-esteem and sexual functioning.

[57][58] The plastic surgical emplacement of breast-implant devices, either for breast reconstruction or for aesthetic purpose, presents the same health risks common to surgery, such as adverse reaction to anesthesia, hematoma (post-operative bleeding), seroma (fluid accumulation), incision-site breakdown (wound infection).

[65] In a study of his 4761 augmentation mammaplasty patients, Eisenberg reported that overfilling saline breast implants 10-13% significantly reduced the rupture-deflation rate to 1.83% at 8-years post-implantation.

[75] The first series of MRI evaluations of the silicone breast implants with thick filler-gel reported a device-rupture rate of 1.0 percent, or less, at the median 6-year device-age.

[citation needed] The cause of capsular contracture is unknown, but the common incidence factors include bacterial contamination, device-shell rupture, filler leakage, and hematoma.

[86] The correction of capsular contracture might require an open capsulotomy (surgical release) of the collagen-fiber capsule, or the removal, and possible replacement, of the breast implant.

The common revision surgery indications include major and minor medical complications, capsular contracture, shell rupture, and device deflation.

Carefully matching the type and size of the breast implants to the patient's pectoral soft-tissue characteristics reduces the incidence of revision surgery.

[78][93][94][95] Nonetheless, during the 1990s, thousands of women claimed sicknesses they believed were caused by their breast implants, including neurological and rheumatological health problems.

Moreover, because only one study, the Swedish Long-term Cancer Risk Among Swedish Women with Cosmetic Breast Implants: an Update of a Nationwide Study (2006), controlled for tobacco smoking information, the data were insufficient to establish verifiable statistical differences between smokers and non-smokers that might contribute to the higher lung cancer mortality rate of women with breast implants.

After investigating, the U.S. FDA has concluded "the weight of the epidemiological evidence published in the literature does not support an association between fibromyalgia and breast implants.

The advent of liposuction technology facilitated medical applications of the liposuction-harvested fat tissue as autologous filler for injection to correct bodily defects, and for breast augmentation.

[114] The later-design lipo-injector gun featured a ratchet-gear operation that afforded the surgeon greater control in accurately emplacing grafts of autologous fat to the recipient site; a trigger action injected 0.1 cm3 of filler.

[121] The centrifugal refinement of the liposuction-harvested adipocyte tissues removes blood products and free lipids to produce autologous breast filler.

Injecting minimal-volume aliquots with each pass of the cannula maximizes the surface area contact, between the grafted fat-tissue and the recipient breast-tissue, because proximity to a vascular system (blood supply) encourages histologic survival and minimizes the potential for fat necrosis.

[129] The successful outcome of fat-graft breast augmentation is enhanced by achieving a pre-expanded recipient site to create the breast-tissue matrix that will receive grafts of autologous adipocyte fat.

The MRI visualizations of the breasts showed no edema, and confirmed the proportionate enlargement of the adipose and glandular components of the breast-tissue matrices.

Moreover, given the sensitive, biologic nature of breast tissue, periodic MRI and 3-D volumetric imaging examinations are required to monitor the breast-tissue viability and the maintenance of the large volume (+300 cc) fat grafts.

The surgical emplacement of breast implant devices (saline or silicone) introduces a foreign object to the patient's body (see capsular contracture).

[132] The reconstruction of breasts with fat grafts requires a three-month treatment period – begun after 3–5 weeks of external vacuum expansion of the recipient-site tissues.

Patient recovery from non-surgical fat graft breast reconstruction permits her to resume normal life activities at 3-days post-procedure.

Technical success follows the adequate external vacuum expansion of the recipient-site tissues (matrix) before the injection of large-volume grafts (220–650 cc) of autologous fat to the breasts.

Despite the promising results of a six-month study of the therapeutic effectiveness of the technique, the research physician recommended to the participant women that they also contribute to augmenting their busts by gaining weight.

[dubious – discuss] Technically, the use of minuscule (2-mm) incisions and blunt-cannula injection much reduce the incidence of damaging the underlying breast structures (milk ducts, blood vessels, nerves).

Injected fat-tissue grafts that are not perfused among the tissues can die, and result in necrotic cysts and eventual calcifications – medical complications common to breast procedures.