Using Autologous Fat Transfer to Fill In the Face
Autologous fat transfer, also known as fat grafting, is a technique where doctors use fat cells from the patient’s own body and inject them into areas of the face.
This treatment is an extremely popular option for facial treatment. It helps fill in hollow cheeks and thin lips while giving a beautiful plumpness to the face.
Benefits of Facial Fat Grafting
Facial fat grafting offers a number of benefits:
• It restores the natural volume to the face in hollow regions like the cheeks, temples, and lips.
• It reduces sagging of the skin and removes depressions and scars on the face.
• It helps remove unwanted fat from trouble areas of the body.
• It offers extremely long-lasting results, especially in comparison to other facial procedures.
• It is only minimally invasive, so you will not have to deal with long periods of downtime.
The Consultation
When you visit Dr. Lentz for your facial fat-grafting consultation, he will analyze your face and mark the areas to be treated. He will also identify areas where a high concentration of fat is present; these are the areas from which excess fat cells can be extracted.
Ideal candidates for the autologous fat transfer are those who have experienced severe age-related damage to the face and who want a more natural approach to facial rejuvenation than what surgery, dermal-filler products, and Botox offer.
It is also a suitable treatment for those diagnosed with lipoatrophy, where subcutaneous fat is lost in high quantities, leading to abnormal loss of volume in the face.
The Procedure
The fat-grafting treatment is a three-part procedure. First is the liposuction, where Dr. Lentz makes a tiny incision on a selected area of the body and suctions out unwanted fat. Common areas for liposuction are the thighs, buttocks, jowls, and abdomen.
Next is the purification of the fat cells, where the cells are placed in a centrifuge and any impurities present are separated and removed from the cells. This ensures that your fat cells are healthy to use. They are then loaded into a thin syringe.
Finally, the fat cells are injected into the pre-determined areas of the face in small quantities using microlipoinjections. The fat is deposited into the patient’s face evenly until the desired volume and contours are achieved. This can take a few hours to complete. The cells must connect to the blood supply for long-lasting results, so the time it takes is well worth it.
Post-Procedure Care
Minor bruising and swelling may be present in the harvesting and injection sites; these will disappear shortly. For a short time after the procedure, it’s best to limit facial movement and avoid using make-up. Use only lukewarm water to gently clean the face.
After bruising and swelling have disappeared, you will notice a visible increase in the volume of your face, better contours, and reduced wrinkles.
Get In Touch with Our Office
Contact the office of Dr. Carl Lentz, a board-certified plastic surgeon, to schedule your informative consultation for facial fat grafting.
