26 Feb Facial Fat Transfer Offers Incredible Results with Minimal Downtime
There are a few plastic surgeries that have become household names (like a facelift), but other newer techniques aren’t as well known—but they might be just what you’re looking for. At RefinedMD, facial cosmetic surgeon Dr. Sudeep Roy is committed to offering patients a variety of the best, safest, and most effective options including facial fat transfer. This procedure is sometimes known as facial fat grafting, and for many patients it offers the results they want to get from a facelift or dermal fillers.
A facelift is still a fantastic option for a lot of patients. It’s a surgery that lifts and tightens skin on the lower half of the face and neck by surgically removing excess fat and tissue. Sometimes, that removal alone is exactly what’s needed to get the desired results. However, sagging skin is just one sign of aging in the face. Equally as prevalent is loss of volume, which is why a facelift is often coupled with dermal fillers. But what if it’s simply loss of facial volume that’s making you look older?
For a permanent solution, facial fat transfer is ideal. This surgical option is much less invasive than a facelift and lasts a lot longer than any dermal filler. It works by transplanting fat from other parts of your body into the desired area of the face. Also known as lipoinjection, facial fat transfers fill in the features that have lost volume, usually in the cheeks, under the eyes, or even in the lips.
Where are the Facial Fat Transfer Donor Sites?
Donor fat can be taken from virtually anywhere in your body. Common sites are the belly, butt, and thighs. This fat is then injected into the face, and can be used to achieve a better contour or even fill in deep lines or pitted scars. Facial fat transfer looks completely natural because it kind of is—it’s ultimately shifting unwanted fat from one part of your body to another.
However, patients should keep in mind that they need enough fat in a donor site to achieve the results they want. During any type of fat transfer, it’s expected that a percentage of the fat will “die” in the process. That means more fat will need to be “donated” than will ultimately survive in the face. However, unlike other procedures like a Brazilian Butt Lift (which usually requires a lot of donated fat!), you don’t need a large amount of donor fat to get the results you want from your facial fat transfer. Even very slender patients often have enough harvestable fat to be good candidates for a facial fat transfer.
The Facial Fat Transfer Process
During the procedure, the donor site and facial sites will be numbed. General anesthesia is rare for this surgery. Fat is taken from the donor site with a syringe and small tube, then purified to get rid of any damaged cells or blood cells. The pure fat is then injected into the face. Remember that “overfilling” is usually part of the process in anticipation of the expected “fat death” that will surely occur. Don’t worry if the results right after the procedure look too big; that’s a combination of swelling and overfilling that will subside in the days and weeks following the treatment.
Facial fat transfers are an outpatient procedure, and if you don’t need general anesthesia you can immediately get back to your daily activities. However, if you had a large amount of fat transfer or general anesthesia, a small recovery period is necessary. Swelling, bruising, or redness that may occur goes away in about two days. Facial fat transfer is a fast and effective way to regain youthfulness in the face without the need for invasive surgeries or a lot of downtime.
In some cases, a patient might benefit from a facelift or other surgery (such as an eyelift) along with a facial fat transfer. If you’ve been thinking about dermal fillers but know you want a permanent solution, facial fat transfers might also be for you. Discover more about a customized treatment plan that includes facial fat transfers by contacting Dr. Sudeep Roy at RefinedMD today at (408) 688-2082.