High Volume Fat Grafting in Sarasota, FL
Move Fat From Where You Don't Want It to Where You Do
Fat grafting surgery does two things in one operation. It removes fat from an area like the abdomen or thighs using liposuction, cleans that fat, and places it where you'd like more fullness. Because it's your own tissue, there's no implant and nothing artificial left behind.
Dr. Alissa Shulman has performed high volume fat grafting since 2013, when the technique became available, and she was the first surgeon in Sarasota to offer it. High volume means she transfers larger amounts in a single session than many surgeons take on, which often means fewer trips to the operating room for you. She's been a board-certified plastic surgeon since 2002 and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (F.A.C.S.), and patients come to her from Tampa, Orlando, Naples, Georgia, and the Carolinas for this procedure specifically.
If you're weighing fat transfer against implants, or another surgeon has told you that you aren't a candidate, request an appointment with Dr. Shulman and she'll tell you honestly what's realistic for your body.
Your Own Tissue, Not an Implant
Understand How Fat Grafting Actually Works
Fat grafting is a three-step operation: harvest, process, and place. Dr. Shulman removes fat with gentle liposuction, separates the healthy fat cells from fluid and damaged tissue, then injects that fat in thin layers so each bit sits close to a blood supply. Layering matters, because transferred fat only survives if it can connect to the tissue around it.
Some of the fat will be reabsorbed by your body over the first few months, which is normal and planned for. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons convened a fat graft task force that concluded fat grafting can be considered a safe method of augmentation and of correcting defects, while noting that results depend heavily on the surgeon's technique. You can read more about the procedure at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
Fat Transfer to the Breast in Sarasota
Add Breast Volume Without Adding an Implant
Fat transfer breast augmentation adds modest, natural volume using fat taken from somewhere else on your body. It suits women who want a change of roughly a cup size, who want to avoid implants entirely, or who want softer results than an implant gives.
It won't produce the dramatic size increase implants can, and you need enough donor fat to work with, which is one reason Dr. Shulman would rather start with a patient who has some fat to spare. She'll walk you through what's realistic at your consultation rather than promising a number. See how it compares with cosmetic breast surgery options that use implants.
Body Fat Transfer and Contour Work
Reshape One Area While Slimming Another
Body fat transfer uses the same technique away from the breast, to soften a contour dent, balance an asymmetry, or restore fullness that's been lost over time. Because the fat has to come from somewhere, most patients get a slimming effect at the donor site as part of the same operation. Dr. Shulman often pairs it with liposuction, since the fat she removes there is the same fat she can reuse.
Fat Grafting After Explant Surgery
Restore Softness After Your Implants Come Out
Fat grafting is one of the most common reasons women choose Dr. Shulman for explant. When implants come out, the breast can look deflated or hollow at the top, and transferred fat can fill that space with your own tissue instead of another device.
Some patients do it at the same time as removal, and others wait and see how the breast settles first. Dr. Shulman will tell you which approach makes more sense for you. Learn more about breast implant removal and explant surgery .
Fat Grafting in Breast Reconstruction
Rebuild a Breast With Your Own Tissue After Cancer
Reconstruction is where Dr. Shulman's career began, and fat grafting grew directly out of that work. After a mastectomy, she layers purified fat into the reconstructed breast over a series of sessions to build the shape, size, and softness you want, rather than relying on an implant alone.
Reconstruction typically unfolds over one to two years and several procedures, and she stays with her patients through all of it. This is also the one part of her practice where insurance applies. See how the process works on the breast reconstruction page.
Traveling to Sarasota for Fat Grafting
Plan a Trip Around a Procedure That Travels Well
Fat grafting is the one operation Dr. Shulman is comfortable caring for at a distance, because recovery is relatively undemanding and there isn't much aftercare to manage day by day. She isn't a fan of medical tourism in general and prefers to keep surgical patients nearby for a few weeks, but fat grafting is the exception. If you're flying in, call the office early so the team can help you plan the timing.