While some injectable fillers, like Collagen, pose an allergic risk, fat transfer is
widely used because it is tolerated well: the substance injected is taken from
your own body.

Fat transfer ( also called autologous fat transfer or micro-lipoinjection ), fills facial
features with a patient's own fat. Because the fat comes from your own body,
you cannot develop an allergic reaction. Fat transfer to the face is a safe
procedure designed to recontour the face and provide definition to cheeks, chin,
lips and lower eyes.

The fat used for fat transfer is liposuctioned from another part of your body like
the abdomen or thighs and injected into another area that requires plumping.

Injected fat lasts longer in larger areas of non-movement, so while it is
successful for the correction of grooves under the eyes and sunken cheeks. It is
not as successful for creating fuller lips. Fat grafting can also correct atrophic
aging of the hands.

Not every area of the body responds well to fat transfer. Fat cannot be injected
into the breasts, for instance, because this makes it very difficult to detect
breast cancer with mammograms.

Fat grafting is performed in our office on an outpatient basis. Both the area from
which the fat is taken and the treatment site are anesthetized with a local
anesthetic. Using a small needle attached to a syringe, fat is removed from a
donor site where your fat is most tightly packed, such as your abdomen.

Once removed, your fat is processed to remove excess fluids and then reinjected
using another needle, which is placed just under your skin beneath the wrinkle.
This process may be repeated until the desired correction has been achieved.

Swelling is expected after fat injection and discomfort following the procedure
can be easily controlled with medication. There may also be some bruising. Over
the first few months your body will absorb about 65% of the fat. The remaining
35% will usually stay in place. For longer lasting results, patients usually receive
three or four treatments over six months.