Non-surgical anti-aging treatments like Botox are
now the most common procedures performed in the United States, quickly
outpacing surgical procedures like facelift surgery. It's no surprise that many
people want to reverse signs of facial aging without incisions. One
revolutionary new technique that is quickly catching on is known as facial fat
grafting, or fat transfer. This procedure uses your own fat from undesired
areas like the buttocks or hips to add facial volume, recreating a youthful and
healthy appearance.
As we age, we tend to gain weight on the body
while losing fat in the face, which leads to a sunken or gaunt appearance. This
is actually the primary reason the face begins to look older, as the under eye
area looks volume, along with the temples and cheeks, allowing skin to sag and
wrinkle further.
Fat transfer can be done to specific areas of the
face like the temples, cheeks, under eye area and elsewhere to restore this
lost volume -- without incisions. Facial fat grafting involves harvesting live
fat cells from one area of the body, usually the stomach, thighs or flanks, and
then processing it before injecting it in very small amounts with a fine needle
to improve contour and fullness of the face.
Rather than turning to artificial or natural
fillers that typically last anywhere from 6 to 18 months, fat transfer uses
your own body and there is no risk of rejection. The transferred fat is also
alive and it can produce permanent results, depending on how fast the body can
form a new blood supply to the transferred fat.
While fat transfer cannot replace other
procedures like a facelift, it can be an excellent complement to achieve better
results. The procedure itself takes no more than two hours as an outpatient
procedure. Recovery usually takes between one and two weeks, with many patients
returning to work after seven days. Bruising and swelling are common, and the
face may appear overfilled at first. Some amount of the transferred fat will
die and be absorbed by the body, however, to reveal the final results.
The amount of fat that survives the transfer and
becomes permanent depends largely on the skill of the surgeon, as this is one
of the most technique-dependent procedures performed today. When done
improperly, fat grafting can result in bumps or overfilling or underfilling.
Always seek out a highly skilled surgeon to perform facial fat transfer for
long-lasting and natural results.
