Facial Fat Transfer

Facial fat grafting in Montgomery AL is often considered the ideal filler material to help restore volume to the face, as it comes from the patient’s own body and therefore provides a soft, natural look and feel.

Facial fat grafting in Montgomery, AL

While dermal fillers are great for plumping the skin to achieve volume in hollow or sunken areas of the face, they are temporary and come with the risk of allergic reaction. Facial fat transfer uses the patient’s own fat to volumize the face, which is 100% natural and has better longevity than dermal fillers. It’s also a popular choice because fat is removed from another part of the body (usually the abdomen or thighs), making it a fat removal treatment as well.

Advantages of facial fat transfer

Provides youthful volume where needed (sunken temples, tear troughs, hollow cheeks, etc.)
Improves the appearance of certain scars
Fills in lines between the nose and mouth and/or forehead wrinkles
Enhances the lips
Achieves beautiful, natural-looking and feeling results
Long-lasting outcome
No risk of allergic reaction
Removes unwanted fat from another area of the body

Alabama Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

How facial fat transfer works

Facial fat transfer replaces and/or enhances the existing structural framework that supports the skin soft tissue envelope of the face. Fat tissue is delicate, and the fat cells can be damaged as fat is removed from the abdomen or other body areas — or during re-injection into areas of volume loss in the face.

The damaged fat cells will dissolve and be removed by the body. After the fat cells are injected into the needed area, the remaining undamaged fat cells must obtain enough oxygen to be sustained. Those that do not will also dissolve and will be removed by the body.

Therefore, the goal with facial fat transfer is to use enough fat in each area to have a substantial improvement after the body clears the damaged and oxygen-deprived fat cells. We use state-of-the-art fat harvesting, purification, and injection techniques to increase survival of the injected fat cells.

Facial fat grafting combined with facelift surgery

Facial fat grafting in Mongomery AL works beautifully hand-in-hand with a facelift . While a facelift improves sagging and wrinkled skin, it doesn’t provide a volumizing effect — which many patients need. By combining facial fat transfer to a facelift, any sunken or hollow areas throughout the face can be addressed for a much more youthful and natural-looking appearance, and an overall rejuvenation.

Facial fat grafting procedure details

The liposuction procedure will be performed with the patient under either local or general anesthesia, depending on how much fat needs to be removed.

Step 1

Liposuction will be performed to gather the fat. The fat typically comes from the abdomen, thighs, or flanks, but it varies from patient to patient. Liposuction requires small incisions.

Step 2

The fat is prepared by being purified using a centrifuge. It’s then placed inside a syringe so that it can be injected.

Step 3

The liposuction incisions will be sutured and dressed.

Step 4

The fat is then carefully and precisely injected into target areas of the face that need volume.

Recovery

Because of swelling and bruising at the donor site and the injection site(s), the majority of patients take about one week off from work and social life. The swelling and bruising usually peaks at 72 hours and then begins to subside, but could last up to two weeks. The incisions from liposuction will need to be kept protected for a few days with clean dressings. While there’s no risk of an allergic reaction in facial fat grafting, there is a small risk of infection. During your consultation, we will go over all risks and what you can expect during recovery.

Results

Those considering facial fat grafting should understand that the results are not immediate, and will take considerable time to become visible. Very early results will become apparent just a few days following the procedure; however, final results can take up to six months. The longevity of these results will be different for every patient. While some individuals see their results last a year or more, others need repeat injections if the fat doesn’t survive well. During your consultation, Dr. Raggio or Dr. Cawthon will go into more detail about the rate of fat survival.

Candidates for facial fat grafting

If you’re in the Montgomery, AL area and you’re interested in facial fat grafting, it may be the perfect procedure for your specific needs. Those who make excellent candidates for this procedure are those who:

Are interested in adding volume to the sunken, hollow, or depressed areas of the face
Are interested in a completely natural facial filler
Have enough fat from another area of the body to use
Are non-smokers in general good health
Have not been on Accutane within the last three months
Are not in an immune-suppressed state
Are not undergoing chemotherapy
Do not have a significant cardiac condition
Have realistic expectations for what facial fat grafting can accomplish

Facial fat grafting in Montgomery, AL from ALPRS

When you choose to work with Alabama Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, you’re not just getting custom and cutting-edge treatment plans. You’re getting aesthetic facial experts who are highly trained and who bring years of experience with them. As the only fellowship-trained Facial Plastic and Reconstructive surgeon in the region, Dr. Blake Raggio is an authority in face procedures in the Montgomery, AL area. In addition, Dr. Thomas Cawthon is also an Otolaryngologist with decades of experience. These exceptional experts provide impeccable care and service from every touchpoint — before, during, and after surgery — to achieve results that are natural-looking, beautiful, and durable.