Facial aging is caused by the sagging of facial soft tissues and wrinkles of the skin that are due to a loss of elasticity, accelerated by genetics, sun exposure, and loss of facial volume. The loss of facial volume accentuates the look of aging by giving the face a hollow or sunken appearance. Facial fat transfer is an excellent alternative to temporary wrinkle and line fillers. As the safest, natural technique to restore facial volume, facial fat transfer allows patients to take fat from elsewhere on their body such as the stomach, buttock or thighs, and place it into deficient areas of the face.
Who is a Candidate for Facial Fat Transfer?
Healthy men and women who have lost facial volume due to aging, or have a hereditary deficiency of facial fat, are excellence candidates for facial fat transfer. The best patients are those who have had experience with fillers in the past, but desire a longer-term result. Fat cells that are transplanted, or transferred, into to face are harvested from other areas of the body such as the stomach, flanks, buttock or thighs. The best candidates have sufficient fat cells in these donor regions.
What is the Recovery Like from Facial Fat Transfer?
Facial fat transfer is performed under local or general anesthesia, and possibly light sedation, depending on the patient’s preference. The procedure can be performed alone or in combination with other procedures such as facelift, necklift or blepharoplasty. During facial fat transfer, fat is harvested from the abdomen, flank, thighs, hips or buttocks through a gentle suctioning technique. Using a small cannula (hollow blunt tube the size of the tip of a pen) the fat is then transferred into the face. There are no facial incisions; however, some post-operative bruising and swelling may occur. As it becomes incorporated as living tissues the fat does not move or shift. The results are long-lasting, if not permanent. Depending on the region treated, patients may require 2-3 fat transfer procedures to achieve the optimal result.
Facial fat transfer is accomplished in an outpatient setting. Most patients return to home after only a few hours. Recovery is usually less than one week, at which time patients may return to work and non-strenuous activities. Mild discomfort, swelling, and bruising are common the first few days after facial fat transfer. Most patients feel confident returning to their public and social lives in about 2-3 weeks.
To schedule a private consultation with the Hudson Valley, Westchester County and the Tri-State Area’s best team for facial fat transfer, please contact our Concierge Patient Coordinators at (845) 454-8025 or email us at info@NYfaceMD.com.
