Nearly all of us want to maintain a youthful appearance, but not everyone is ready to invest in facial surgery to achieve that goal. Fortunately, you don’t have to. Facial fat grafting is a less invasive method for smoothing wrinkles and restoring youthful volume, with natural, long-lasting results. This blog explains the fat transfer procedure and the benefits you can enjoy by rejuvenating your face without surgery.
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Multiple Treatment Options
Are you unhappy with wrinkles around your nose and mouth? Perhaps your cheeks are starting to hollow, or your lips have lost their youthful volume. Facial fat transfer can address these concerns and more. A bit of strategically placed fat can improve:
- Acne scarring
- Hollowing and lines under the eyes
- Loss of volume in the cheeks
- Thinning, shapeless lips
- Mild jowling along the jawline
Dr. Kadz can address all of these concerns in a single treatment session. You can also combine fat grafting with treatments such as Morpheus8™ or BOTOX® Cosmetic for added enhancement.
Two Steps, Single Treatment
Facial fat transfer is a two-step procedure that begins by extracting fat from an area of the body via liposuction. Treatment areas might include the abdomen, hips, or another area where you have stubborn pockets of fat. Using your own fat for the grafting process gives you the added benefit of sculpting a problem area while you rejuvenate your facial contours.
Dr. Kadz places extracted fat into a centrifuge to purify it and prepare it for injection. Once it is placed into syringes, it works similarly to dermal fillers, adding subtle volume and smoothing imperfections from the inside out. Dr. Kadz places slightly more fat than needed to achieve the desired outcome, since the body reabsorbs a percentage of the fat in the days following treatment.
Quick Recovery, Long-Lasting Results
Both steps are performed in a single treatment session. Patients go home the day of the procedure, and recovery is quick and comfortable. Liposuction areas often heal in just a week or two, depending on the amount of fat removed. Patients may experience mild swelling or bruising and may require pain medication for a few days to remain comfortable.
The injection sites can also become slightly red or swollen, but the side effects tend to subside quickly. Patients often notice their face looks fuller at first, but the results will settle over time as some of the fat reabsorbs and the rest settles into place. Because the patient’s own fat is used in the grafting process, there is no risk for rejection of the donor fat after the treatment.
Facial Fat Grafting vs. Injectable Dermal Fillers
Although fat grafting is performed by injection like dermal fillers, the longevity of the results is vastly different. Most dermal fillers only last a few months before the body reabsorbs them, and the results fade. The fat that “takes” after grafting does not reabsorb, and patients enjoy long-lasting, sometimes even permanent results from their treatment.
The longevity of your results is a critical factor when weighing the cost of facial fat transfer against that of fillers. Dermal fillers come with a much smaller price tag, which can be attractive—at first glance. However, when you add up the repeated treatments required to maintain your positive results, the cost also increases exponentially.
Another key difference is the ability to reverse effects if you are unhappy with your results. Most dermal fillers can be dissolved by injecting another agent into the treatment site, making it easy to quickly eliminate unwanted outcomes. Fat transfer is permanent and irreversible. For this reason, always work with a plastic surgeon who has extensive experience in fat grafting techniques to ensure they achieve the results you want.
Learn More About Facial Fat Grafting in Beverly Hills
Facial fat grafting offers a long-lasting way to turn back the effects of time on the face without significant incisions or downtime. Dr. Bruce Kadz is a board-certified plastic surgeon with extensive experience using fat transfer techniques. To find out if facial fat transfer in Beverly Hills is right for you, schedule your consultation with Dr. Kadz today by calling (980) 372-5239 or completing our online contact form.