Abstract
Autologous fat transfer is a common technique to refine the contour of the breast after prosthetic augmentation or reconstruction, correcting remaining asymmetries by injecting previously harvested fat tissue with a cannula. Current procedures are often performed without visualization of the cannula at the delivery site and may require subsequent verification of the implant's integrity. The present paper aims to evaluate the safety of a new bulb tip cannula to be used during breast implant procedures for injecting fat adjacent to a breast implant that reduce the risk of damaging the implant. Two conventional cannulae and 3 bulb cannulae, which have an atraumatic distal tip, were tested in a simulated implant-puncture setting in 3 positions (at 0°, 45°, and 90° of incidence). A Tensile Tester (Instron, High Wycombe, UK) was used to apply force with each cannula device and record the amount of force applied in the attempt to penetrate the implants used, with shell layers having a variable thickness. No implant rupture was observed with the bulb tip cannulae regardless of size or the position in which the cannulae were pressed against the implants. The cannula opening was not impeded and tended to bend instead; 27% of the cases with the conventional lipo-cannulae caused an implant rupture. The bulb tip cannula could enhance the safety of the fat transfer procedure by ensuring no iatrogenic implant disruption and optimal delivery of the fat tissue.