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The technique of fat grafting is one that plastic surgeons have been using for 10 years. Although different kinds of facelifts are used to remove extra skin and move fat, they cannot add fullness to one’s face.
Having a surgeon add fat to facial features is necessary because most people tend to lose volume in certain parts of their faces as they grow older. That is why fat grafting is used to produce a younger looking face.
First, a board certified specialist in facial rejuvenation operations harvests fat cells, through liposuction, from either the patient’s abdomen or the upper part of the thighs. This type of San Diego facelift procedure only removes a small amount of fat, between two and four teaspoons, not enough to reshape that particular body part.
This technique transplants the patient’s own fat from one part of their body to their face, where filler is needed. Using fat grafting is similar to using products like Voluma or Juvederm to add volume to one’s facial features.
The parts of the face where fat grafting is usually performed include the cheeks, the lower eyelids, the lips, and the skin folds on each side of the nose which are known as “smile lines” or “laugh lines.”
The face is not the only part of the body where fat grafting can be done. Surgeons are also employing the procedure to reconstruct breasts and sometimes to add volume to a patient’s buttocks. Plastic surgeons are finding fat grafting useful in a wide range of procedures.
Fat grafting has become a common procedure as there is no chance of patients having an allergic reaction since it is their own fat that is used.
The steps in the fat harvesting process are these:
- Deciding on the best part of the body to retrieve fat
- Administer a numbing shot if necessary (if the patient is not under general anesthesia already for the operation)
- Using liposuction to remove the fat
- Purifying the fat cells
The San Diego Plastic surgeon carefully deposits the purified fat in its new location, where it will provide the most volume. The surgeon takes his time, injecting the fat bit by bit until the area has the right amount of volume.
When a fat graft is used on the face, it is can be done along with other surgical methods to rejuvenate the patient’s looks.
The fat grafting procedure has become such a significant part of facelifts that a journal for plastic surgeons printed a study on it. Led by Dr. Sammy Sinno, the study surveyed 309 board certified surgeons who specialize in plastic surgery, asking them about their usage of fat grafting.
The results of the survey revealed that 85 percent of the surgeons had used fat grafting as part of the facelifts they performed. In responding to the survey, the surgeons agreed that fat grafting provides improved rejuvenation results when it is compared to traditional facelifts.
The fat grafting procedure offers the best possible outcome for patients of plastic surgery.