Five Applications for Fat Grafting

The facial fat grafting procedure offers a wide array of treatment options for patients. Once the fat has been collected, it can be used to do many things to rejuvenate the face, create a more youthful appearance, and correct the signs of aging. If you’ve been considering facial fat transfers as part of your own facial rejuvenation procedure, here are just a few of the different ways your fat grafting can be used to give you a youthful boost.

What Is Fat Grafting?

During a fat grafting procedure, sometimes called fat injections or fat transfer, fat cells are harvested from a donor area to be used elsewhere. Your surgeon will likely use local or twilight anesthesia to perform this part of the transfer, gathering the fat cells from an area like the abdomen, thighs, or buttocks. The fat is suctioned gently from the body using a special suction cannula, then purified as it is spun through a centrifuge to remove impurities. The fat is now prepared to be injected into another location on the body, where it can be more useful.

Application #1 – Rejuvenating the Hands

As the hands age, the skin becomes thinner and the natural fat deposits become depleted. Aging hands look brittle and fragile, with visible veins and protruding joints. When fat grafting is used to treat the hands, some of their lost volume can be restored and a more youthful look is achieved. Added fat provides padding to the back of the hands, lessening the appearance of veins and knuckles and creating a smoother look.

Application #2 – Plumping the Lips

There are many different types of treatments available today for lip enhancement. Some patients turn to artificial treatments like collagen or dermal fillers to give their lips a boost. These results are not permanent, however, and touch-up treatments must be spaced out over several months to keep the look. A fat grafting to the lips can get the same enhancement in a more natural-looking and long-lasting way. Because the fat is from the patient’s body, it won’t be broken down and flushed like a synthetic filler would. The end result is a near-permanent enhancement to the lips that leaves them plump, soft, and natural.

Application #3 – Restoring Facial Mass

During the course of the aging process, gravity helps to redistribute some of the natural fat pads found in the face. These pads shift downward, collecting in the chin and around the jaw, and leave the upper portion of the face looking gaunt and hollow. With a facial fat graft, the lost volume in the forehead and cheeks can be restored with a simple injection. These treatments can also be applied to the lower eyelids, which often look sunken with age.

Application #4 – Fighting Fine Lines and Wrinkles

Just as dermal fillers can be used to gently plump the area beneath your wrinkles, so too can fat injections. In much the same way, only with much longer-lasting results, fat injections will fill in the spaces of depleted volume and soften the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. These treatments are great for the corners of the eyes, around the mouth, between the nose and mouth, and across the forehead. By plumping the skin slightly, the wrinkled treatment areas look smoother and softer. Fat grafting can do wonders at diminishing these unwanted signs of aging.

Application #5 – Boosting Body Parts

Beyond the face and hands, fat grafting offers many benefits to certain parts of the body as well. Fat transfers are an all-natural way to enhance the breasts in an implant-free version of an augmentation surgery. The buttocks can also be enhanced with fat transfers instead of implants. Following a liposuction surgery, some patients have turned to fat grafting as a way to smooth out irregularities in their new body contour. Basically, if it needs a little added volume, fat grafting can handle the job.

Let Fat Grafting Help You

Learn more about the many ways a fat grafting procedure can help you to achieve your desired results.Frederick G. Weniger, M.D., F.A.C.S. provides his patients with years of experience and knowledge during one-on-one consultations regarding the surgeries and nonsurgical treatments available at their practice. Dr. Weniger is board certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery and a member of The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. He believes good information lies at the heart of success in all of his surgeries and interactions with his patients.

To schedule a consultation for any aesthetic surface or other procedures, contact the office of Weniger Plastic Surgery today at (843) 757-0123. They are located at 350 Fording Island Road, Suite 200, in Bluffton, South Carolina.