Is Fat Injections A Good Idea For Biceps and Triceps Augmentation?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I want do get my biceps and triceps enhanced by using fat but I haven’t found very much information about the procedure. Is this something you perform? Thanks

A: I have done fat injections for deltoid, bicep and gastrocnemius muscle augmentations. There are two basic issues with using fat injections for muscle augmentations. The first is a practical one….does one have enough fat to harvest to do the procedure? It takes a lot more harvested fat that one thinks to create a fat concentrate for injection. It is known as the ‘halving principle’ which goes like this….50% of the volume of the harvested fat is reduced by concentration, the remaining volume is then halved because it must be used for each side, and then we can assume that 50% of the injected will not survive. Thus let’s take the number of 1,000ccs or 1 liter can be harvested. (you may have more or less but I will use this number as a simple example) By concentration we are done to 500ccs, split between two sides we are down to 250ccs and then assuming only half will survive that is 125cc split between the biceps and triceps or 60ccs for each muscle belly. (a glass of water for example is 240ccs) Depending upon what your goals are that may be just enough or not enough close to your aesthetic augmentation goal.

The other consideration is biologic. Beyond what amount of fat may or may not survive, there is how the remaining fat will biologically behave. It will act just like where it came from which for most patients is largely the abdominal area. Thus should you gain or lose weight the size of the injected fat will go up and down in size also.

With that information as the background, how much fat do you have to harvest and how much muscle augmentation are you seeking?

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana