Can Deltoid Augmentation (Wider Shoulders) Be Effectively Done With Fat Transfer?

Q: Dr. Eppley, Very interested in deltoid fat transfer to make my shoulders wider. I lift weights but have a a small frame naturally. I have never gotten lipo surgery before and am currently at 17% body fat. I would like to have the procedure done if it is feasible and can be successful. Thank you.

A:Thank you for your inquiry and sending your picture. Like all fat transfers the key questions are: 1) Does one have enough fat to harvest and transfer? and 2) how much fat will survive and persist in a young lean athletic frame? On both of these questions you are admittedly on the perimeter of whether the procedure would work. But since the deltoids are a small surface area and do not need a large amount of fat you probably have enough to do so. The more challenging one is survival in someone with a high metabolism into an area that otherwise does not have fat present. But as long as one can accept that unpredictable fate there is no harm in undergoing the procedure.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana