Facial Fat Transfer
A fat transfer is an all-natural procedure that is designed to restore your youthful face. Using your own body fat as a filler, our plastic surgeons can replenish lost volume and reshape your facial contours.
Before and After Photos
Facial-Volume Loss
With age, the face adopts a sunken, wrinkled and weathered appearance. This is due in part to natural, age-related volume loss. Unfortunately, this process can make you look years older than you feel.
When this occurs, you generally have two options. You can fill in the hollow areas with dermal fillers or your own body fat. For patients who want a long-lasting outcome and are concerned about an adverse reaction to an artificial material, a facial fat transfer is the ideal solution.
Benefits
- Replenish lost volume due to age
- Smooth fine lines, wrinkles and furrows
- Naturally and subtly enhance the face
- Fill in certain facial scars
- Augment thinning lipsThe results can last for years (longer than dermal fillers)
- Appropriate for early and advanced signs of aging
- Safe procedure with few risks
Candidate
Because it’s such a safe procedure, most men and women are considered candidates for a facial fat transfer.
It tends to be the ideal solution for individuals who want to look younger without a surgical facelift or dermal fillers.
Procedure
Your facial fat transfer will likely be done under local anesthesia, which means you will be awake but the treatment areas will be numbed. The entire process involves three steps: liposuction, purification and injection.
First, our plastic surgeons will perform gentle liposuction to extract excess fat from another area of the body, such as the jowls, abdomen or buttocks. The goal is to collect undamaged fat cells for the transfer, so low-suction liposuction is used.
Once enough fat has been collected, we will spin it in a centrifuge at a very high speed to separate the fat cells from the liquid. We will then remove the damaged cells and reserve the whole, cleansed ones for the procedure. The third and final step involves injecting the fat cells into the target areas on your face.
Recovery
You can expect swelling and bruising at both the donor and target sites. These effects are usually mild and should disappear within a few days. The recovery period associated with a facial fat transfer is quite short. Most of our clients can return to their normal activities within a day or two.
Results
The results of your facial fat transfer will be visible immediately and should continue to improve as the swelling subsides. The outcome is also incredibly long-lasting. Although the specifics vary depending on the individual, many of our clients enjoy their beautiful facial fat transfer results for many years.
A facial fat transfer is a simple, all-natural way to restore your youthful appearance. To begin planning for your procedure, please contact our Del Mar, Newport or Coronado office today and schedule a consultation.