Fat injections, also known as fat grafting or fat transfers, enable you to soften the lines of your face and fill in depressions for a rounder, fuller shape. As we age, our faces tend to become more thin and hollow. At Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery Group, we use fat injections to restore this youthful shape using material from your own body.*
When should I consider facial fat injections?
Fat injections can be used to remedy the following issues:
- Facial creases like smile lines, laugh lines, and crow’s-feet
- Acne scars
- Sunken areas of the lips and cheeks
- Forehead wrinkles
- Lines between your nose and mouth
Overall, fat injections can give your face a rounder, fuller appearance. Some patients opt for fat injections as a longer-lasting alternative to fillers.
What are the pros and cons of fat injections?
Unlike fillers, fat injections use autologous fat, meaning fat from your own body. This greatly reduces the risk of an allergic reaction and makes the procedure long-lasting and safe. The downsides of fat injections are a greater cost and longer preparation time. While dermal fillers are prepackaged, fat tissue must go through a preparation process.
What is the procedure for fat injections?
Getting fat injections is a three-step process:
- Harvesting: First, the fat is removed from elsewhere on your body. You and your surgeon will select the optimal site for fat removal, usually the outer thighs. In a short operation, your surgeon makes an incision on the target site and extracts the fat using a cannula connected to a syringe.
- Purification and transfer: The fat must be processed and purified before it is reinserted into your body. This filtration process removes impurities, making the fat perfectly safe and ready for implantation.
- Placement: The facial area receiving the graft is prepared. Your surgeon inserts a needle into the target site, carefully depositing a line of fatty tissue along the natural planes of your face. This process repeats until a grid of grafted fat is created and the desired correction is achieved. Sometimes, your surgeon massages the grafted area to create an optimal contour, while some surgeons rely on their placement technique.
Fat injections require several weeks of healing. For the first few days, your face will be swollen and bruised. Your surgeon will instruct you on how to care for the extraction and graft sites. When the swelling recedes, you will notice a significant difference in the texture and contours of the targeted areas. Your face will appear softer and fuller, and you may even see improved skin tone.*
Do you have a question?
Dr. Danielpour and Dr. Layke are available to answer any question you may have regarding our line of cosmetic and surgical procedures.
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