Hybrid (composite) augmentation combines an implant with your own fat to refine shape and correct the natural asymmetry between both breasts — Dr Thomas Colson's most frequent breast procedure. A fat-only option exists for native breasts, with body contouring from the donor areas.
Composite — or hybrid — augmentation combines an implant with the patient's own fat. It is Dr Colson's most frequent breast procedure (about 70%), because almost every woman has a small natural asymmetry between her two breasts, and an implant's fixed size cannot correct it.
The implant supplies the underlying volume; the fat, transferred by lipofilling, refines the shape side by side — upper pole, cleavage and base — for a result tailored to each breast rather than fitted to a single implant size.
For a native breast — typically a younger patient, with no sagging, who has not breastfed — wanting up to about one cup more, Dr Colson offers augmentation by fat transfer alone, with no implant. The donor areas (abdomen, saddlebags, back roll, arms) are contoured at the same time.
Because the fat is harvested by liposuction from chosen donor areas, composite surgery contours the body — abdomen, flanks, back, arms — while enhancing the breast. The plan, including implant choice and the volume of fat per side, is agreed using a Crisalix 3D simulation at consultation.
In line with UAE Department of Health guidelines on modesty and medical advertising, breast surgical results are not published online. Outcomes relevant to your own anatomy are reviewed privately during your consultation, alongside a Crisalix 3D simulation of your planned result.
A composite augmentation combines an implant with the patient's own fat, so it carries the risks of both. Dr Colson reviews them with every patient before consent.
| Risk | What it means | How it is managed |
|---|---|---|
| All implant-related risks apply | Capsular contracture, implant rupture, sensation change, malposition, the likelihood of further surgery, and rarely BIA-ALCL. | Set out in full on the breast augmentation page and discussed again at consultation. |
| Partial resorption of the grafted fat | Not all transferred fat survives. A proportion is reabsorbed over the first months, and the final volume is only settled at around six months. | Volumes are planned with expected resorption in mind; a second, smaller grafting session is sometimes proposed. |
| Fat necrosis, oil cysts and calcification | Grafted fat can form firm lumps, small oil cysts or calcifications that are palpable or visible on mammography. | Assessed by examination and imaging; benign graft changes have a recognisable radiological appearance. |
| Effect on breast imaging | Both the implant and the grafted fat change how the breast looks on a mammogram. | The radiologist is told that an implant is present and that lipofilling was performed, so that benign changes are not confused with other findings. Routine screening continues as normal. |
| Donor-site effects | Bruising, swelling, contour irregularity or temporary numbness where the fat was harvested. | Harvest spread across several areas rather than concentrated in one; compression garment for several weeks. |
| Bleeding, infection and anaesthetic risk | Uncommon, and applicable at both the breast and the donor site. | Sterile technique, perioperative antibiotics, pre-operative assessment and early mobilisation. |
Fat grafting to the breast does not prevent breast screening and does not cause breast cancer. It can, however, produce benign changes — oil cysts and calcifications — that a radiologist needs to interpret. For that reason the fact that lipofilling was performed is recorded and should be mentioned at every future mammogram. Routine screening should continue exactly as recommended for your age group.
Under UAE Department of Health rules on health media and advertising, patient information must be balanced. None of the above is a reason to avoid surgery — it is the material on which an informed decision is made, and each point is discussed again, applied to your own anatomy, before you consent.
Consultations and surgery with Dr Thomas Colson are performed exclusively at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) in Abu Dhabi, within the SEHA network. A pre-operative Crisalix 3D simulation lets patients preview the planned breast shape before deciding.