Lipofilling, also known as fat grafting or fat transfer, is a cosmetic surgical procedure that involves harvesting fat from one area of the body (such as the abdomen, thighs, or flanks) and transferring it to another area where volume is needed, such as the face, breasts, buttocks, or hands. This technique utilizes your body’s own fat, making it a natural alternative to synthetic fillers or implants. Lipofilling is commonly used for facial rejuvenation, breast augmentation, buttock enhancement, and correcting areas of volume loss due to aging or weight loss.
Who needs the Lipofilling:
1) Facial Volume Restoration:
Aging-related Volume Loss: As people age, they often lose facial fat, causing hollow cheeks, sunken temples, or deeper nasolabial folds (smile lines). Fat grafting can restore this lost volume for a fuller, more youthful look.
Lip Enhancement: Patients seeking fuller, natural-looking lips can benefit from lipofilling, which can enhance lip volume without synthetic fillers.
Under-Eye Hollows: Micro-Fat grafting can fill in hollows under the eyes, reducing the appearance of dark circles and creating a more refreshed look.
2) Body Contouring and Augmentation:
- Breast Enhancement: Patients looking for a mild increase in breast size or improved breast shape may choose fat grafting as an alone procedure or can be combined with breast implants for more fuller breasts.
- Buttock Augmentation (Brazilian Butt Lift): Lipofilling is popular for enhancing the buttocks, adding volume and shaping for a more rounded appearance using a patient’s own fat.
- Hip Dips Filling: Fat grafting can smooth out hip dips, creating a more rounded, hourglass body shape.
3) post-Liposuction Refinement:
Contour Irregularities: Patients who’ve had liposuction may have minor contour irregularities or depressions. Fat grafting can fill these areas, resulting in a smoother and more balanced contour.
4) Breast Reconstruction After Mastectomy:
Natural Breast Reconstruction: Patients who’ve had a mastectomy may use fat grafting to rebuild breast shape, especially when a natural, softer appearance is preferred or in combination with implants for a fuller look.
5) Scar Treatment and Tissue Healing:
Scar Softening: Fat grafting is often used to treat and soften scarred areas, making them less noticeable.
Radiation Damage Repair: For patients who’ve undergone radiation treatment, fat grafting can help repair damaged tissue, improve skin quality, and restore volume.
6) Hand Rejuvenation:
Volume Restoration in Aging Hands: With age, hands may appear bony or veiny due to fat loss. Fat grafting can restore volume, making hands look fuller and more youthful.
How Lipofilling Works:
● Fat Harvesting: The first step of lipofilling involves liposuction, where fat is removed from a donor area using a small cannula (a tube). This area can be anywhere on the body where there is excess fat, such as the abdomen, thighs, or flanks. The fat is carefully suctioned out in small amounts to ensure minimal discomfort and tissue trauma.
● Processing and Purification: After the fat is harvested, it is purified to remove impurities, excess fluids, and blood. This step ensures that only viable fat cells are injected into the treatment area. Various methods can be used to process the fat, including centrifugation or filtration.
● Fat Injection: Once processed, the purified fat is carefully injected into the target area. Depending on the procedure’s goal, the fat can be injected into multiple layers of the skin or tissue to create volume and contour. The injections are made through small, discreet incisions, ensuring minimal visible scarring.
● Fat Retention: Not all of the transferred fat survives the process, as some fat cells may be reabsorbed by the body. Typically, about 50-70% of the transferred fat will remain in the treated area, and the results improve as the body stabilizes the transferred fat.
Frequently Asked Questions about Lipofilling:
Ideal candidates for lipofilling are individuals in good overall health who have areas of excess fat to donate and desire volume enhancement in other areas. It’s important to have realistic expectations and a healthy lifestyle, as weight fluctuations can affect the results.
The results of lipofilling are generally long-lasting, with the remaining fat providing permanent volume. However, the fat reabsorption process can vary, and in some cases, touch-up treatments may be necessary to achieve the desired results. Maintaining a stable weight is key to ensuring the longevity of the results.
The procedure is typically performed under local anesthesia with sedation or general anesthesia, so patients do not feel pain during the surgery. After the procedure, there may be mild discomfort, swelling, and bruising in both the donor and treatment areas, but these symptoms can be managed with prescribed pain medications.
Recovery time depends on the areas treated. Most patients can return to light activities within 1-2 weeks, but full recovery can take up to 6 weeks. Swelling, bruising, and soreness are common during the initial recovery phase, and patients may need to wear compression garments in the donor area to reduce swelling.
As with any surgery, lipofilling carries some risks, such as infection, irregular contours, fat necrosis (when fat cells die), or asymmetry. However, these risks are rare and can usually be addressed if detected early. Choosing a skilled and experienced surgeon can help minimize these risks.