Filling Wrinkles and Restoring Facial Volume with a Facial Fat Transfer

As you grow older, your face gradually starts losing volume. This is because over the years, tissue is lost from the underlying facial fat layer. This gives a person’s face a sunken or gaunt appearance, leaving them looking tired all the time and much older than they really are.

As the face loses more volume, bags under the eyes, marionette lines, and the nasolabial folds all become more apparent. The most effective way to treat these signs of aging is by undergoing facelift procedures, but these require downtime and involve going under the knife.

If you want to avoid surgery and long periods of downtime, there is a much more convenient treatment available: facial fat transfer.

Facial Fat Transfer

The facial fat transfer procedure involves harvesting fat from other areas of your body such as the abdomen, hips, buttocks, and thighs and then moving it to parts of your face that have lost volume and appear sunken.

The facial fat transfer is extremely safe, because your own tissue is used, eliminating any chance of rejection or side effects. The procedure offers long-lasting results that give your face a naturally rejuvenated and youthful look.

A facial fat transfer is ideal for anybody who is looking to revitalize their face while avoiding invasive surgical treatments. If your face looks gaunt and lacking in volume, then you should consider undergoing this treatment. It also helps to smooth out deep creases, wrinkles, and folds.

The Procedure

Before the procedure is conducted, the patient is typically given intravenous sedation with local anesthesia to ease any discomfort. Fatty tissue is extracted from fat-rich areas such as the thighs, hips, lower back, buttocks, or any other donor site chosen by the patient.

The tissue is decanted and then processed in a centrifuge to purify it. This removes dead and damaged fat cells and unneeded fluids, leaving the healthy fat cells for transfer. Healthy fat cells stand the best chance of connecting to the blood supply and thriving for years to come.

Once the fat has been purified, it is carefully and precisely injected into specific areas in the patient’s face. These areas are known as recipient sites. After the injections, the low-volume areas will appear fuller and smoother.

The Results of a Facial Fat Transfer

Immediately after the procedure, you will notice some swelling and bruising in the treatment areas. Cold compresses can aid in reduction of the swelling. Once it recedes, the results will be apparent.

It may be necessary to take around a week or less off of work as you recover. It will take a couple of weeks for the injected fat to fully settle. You will notice the sunken areas appearing fuller and more voluminous. There will also be a reduction in fine lines and wrinkles as the skin smoothes out. These results can last you a lifetime as long as you take care of your skin.

As this procedure is an autologous fat transfer, your body will not reject the fatty tissue. This helps to avoid side effects and complications.

Contact Us for a Consultation

Want to find out more about what a facial fat transfer can do for you? Contact the office of board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Edward Miranda today to arrange your informative consultation.