Cosmetic Surgery and Fat Transfers

The reason cosmetic surgery fat transfers work is because during the aging process wrinkling is often caused by the loss of soft facial tissues. This loss of subcutaneous facial tissues causes drooping, wrinkling and sagging.  A fat transfer can replace this lost tissue and make the face look younger.

Cosmetic surgery fat transfer is not a new operation however it is only recently that it has been perfected. The problem with the operation before is that it was quite temporary as injected fat seemed to degrade and the drooping effect would recur again sometimes as quickly within one year.  Nowadays the results can last as long as two to three years.

The procedure involves liposuction using tumescent liposuction techniques that involve inserting a long metal vacuum beneath the skin on another area of the body to harvest fight. Fat is usually harvested anywhere on the body where you might have a little extra including the hips, thighs or belly. This fat is then purified and concentrated. The face is aesthesthetized and tiny droplets of your own fat are reinjected into the face. One of the keys to the longevity of the more modern operations is the fact that injecting small droplets makes the positive effects of this type of cosmetic surgery last longer.

Cosmetic surgery fat transfer can be used to enhance a number of different areas on the body. The fat that is harvested can be used to augment the lips, the nasolabial folds near the mouth and hollow areas beneath the eyes. Transferred fat is also used in cosmetic surgery to fill gaunt looking cheekbones and to reinforce the jaw line so it can be made more prominent.

Any fat that is left over from the harvesting of it from your thigh or abdomen is processed and usually stored by the plastic surgeon in his office freezer for use in later injections. This fat is usually good for use for about two years.

Like all plastic surgery, cosmetic plastic surgery fat transfer procedures do come with some risk of imperfection. For instance at first the areas injected with fat might look chubby as it takes time for the face to reabsorb the injected fat. Yet another unattractive side effect is that the swelling and bruising of the face that is there for several days after the operation. Another common occurrence is imbalance of the face after the tissues have had some time to settle in. It is very run of the mill for a cosmetic surgery patient to have to return to the cosmetic surgeon’s office to have the procedure repeated so that the face looks more symmetrical. As is true with all plastic surgery, it is good to realize that this procedure may not be perfect.