Fat Transfer

Use your own fat to fill in furrows and wrinkles.

This is a very popular procedure for the furrows between the nose and the corners of the mouth, for the back of the hands, lip enhancement and for depressed acne scars. "I walked in with a wrinkle. One hour later I walked out without it and went back to work" "After 6 injections with my own fat I didn't have a wrinkle to fill in any more. The wrinkle is still gone and it's been 6 months!

Your own fat can be used to fill in furrows, lips, acne scarring and hollowed out areas on the face. This procedure has the advantage of being very soft and natural appearing as well as the ability to permanently correct the area it is placed in. Fat is a “filling” substance that can be used in small volumes to fill in most depressions as long as the skin above it can stretch to accommodate it. For example, lips can be made fuller by this technique. This is a procedure done while you are awake using only local anesthesia. Fat is a perfect filler — it is soft and natural feeling by itself. There is no allergic reaction to it, since it comes from your own body. There is even a chance that it will become permanent in the new location!

The Fat Harvest and Transfer procedure takes approximately 1 1/2 hours, and is done under local anesthesia. Excess fat taken out can be frozen for up to 6 months. Injections of frozen fat take a 15 minute appointment.

What areas can be treated by Fat Transfer?

Indented acne scars, lower face wrinkles and furrows, the back of the hands, any depressed irregularities in your skin.

How do you get the fat?

The fat is taken from a palm-sized area by liposuction using a syringe. First, the area that the fat will be taken from (the “donor area”) is anesthetized with local anesthesia. Using a small, straw-like instrument called a cannula, fat is gently hand suctioned out and washed thoroughly. The procedure is often combined with Liposuction for Body Contouring. Some of the harvested fat is immediately injected; the remaining is frozen and saved for injections at a later date.

Where do you get the fat?

Donor areas are generally in the hip area, but can be in the outer thigh, buttock or abdomen.

What is recovery like?

You drive yourself home and return to your normal activities immediately. The majority of patients have immediate correction with little telltale signs of the procedure. In the treated area there is a small chance of bruising and swelling for several days, but no bandaging is necessary. If the face is treated, make-up can be worn immediately afterward. The donor area is covered by an elastic pressure bandage for up to one week and can be mildly sore, but Tylenol is all that’s needed to control this mild discomfort (if it occurs at all).

Is Fat Transfer a permanent solution?

Theoretically, live fat cells should be able to "graft" to the treated area. Still, there are several factors that influence this ability to graft. The less movement the treated area gets, the more fat cells survive: in acne scars or “hollow” cheeks, one treatment may be all that is needed. In highly mobile areas (like the mouth and surrounding areas) multiple treatments are the rule. Besides “grafting” of fat it is also possible that the injected fat causes an increase in your own collagen production in the treatment area. This results in a permanent correction; in our experience we see about 30% - 40% permanence after nine injections.

How does Fat Transfer compare with Collagen Injections?

You have no allergic reactions to your own fat. Consequently, there is no need to have any skin testing done: you can have the therapy performed without any delay. Collagen is derived from cows and requires skin testing for one month prior to therapy. Up to 3% of people develop an allergy to bovine collagen after it has been injected. Additionally, transferred fat is placed in a deeper plane of tissue, producing a softer, more natural look. Finally, there is a greater chance of some permanent correction with your own fat than with Collagen. Injection intervals are similar with both products (approx. 3-5 months).

Can Fat Fransfer be used for breast augmentation?

No - at least not yet. Large volume Fat Transfer is not successful at this time.