Fat grafting or fat transfer has become a very popular stand-alone and adjunctive procedure in aesthetic plastic surgery. The premise of fat grafting is to use your own body’s tissue as a volumetric filler instead of a synthetic material. Besides eliminating the chance of any foreign body or allergic reaction, since it is your own tissue, fat has the added advantage of providing a longer-lasting, potentially permanent result.
Fat is first harvested by performing conservative liposuction to the abdomen, or flanks. The technique used during harvest and fat preparation is critical to ensure the highest concentration of stem cells. These stem cells are responsible for growing in the grafted areas and maintaining a long-lasting result. I use the Adivive Lipokit system, which harvests at low pressure so as not to disrupt the fat cells, and filters and prepares fat to achieve high stem cell concentrations.
Once the fat is harvested and prepared, fat grafting and transfer is performed using a cannula. Fat is commonly grafted to restore volume in the tear troughs, cheeks, smile lines (nasolabial folds), temples, brows, and around the eyes (peri-orbit). In Asian and Korean plastic surgery patients, a common treatment area is also the forehead, to create a more rounded rather than flat appearance.
Approximately 30-50% of the initial volume remains as a lasting result. Discomfort after the procedure is minimal, and bruising and swelling typically resolve within a week.
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