Facial wrinkles and creases are part of the aging process. They begin to appear as the underlying collagen and elastin fibers break down and wear out. While this breakdown is part of the natural aging process, it can also result from excessive squinting, frowning and smiling.
Fat transfer, also called autologous fat transplantation or micro-lipoinjection, plumps up facial features with a patient’s own fat, and is a popular alternative to other wrinkle treatments. Fat transfer to the face is a safe, natural, non-allergenic procedure, designed to recontour your face, and can provide definition to your cheeks and chin. It can also be used to correct facial deformities. Since fat transfer uses your own fat cells, you can never have an allergic reaction, because it's from your own body.
With fat transfer, it is possible to have fat liposuctioned from your abdomen for example, and then transferred to any area of your body. Reinjected fat lasts longer in larger areas of non-movement, so it is very successful for the correction of sunken cheeks, because this area does not move as often. Not all the fat transferred will survive and the results will vary somewhat from patient to patient. Sometimes repeat treatments will be necessary to obtain the optimal result.
Fat transfer can also correct atrophic aging of the hands, and post-surgical and post-traumatic defects. But not every area of the body responds well to fat transfer. The breasts for instance, are not appropriate. Injecting fat into the breast makes it much more difficult to detect breast cancer with mammograms.
Fat transfer is performed in our office on an outpatient basis. Both the area from which the fat is taken, and the treatment site, is anesthetized with a local anesthetic. Using a small needle attached to a syringe, fat is removed from a donor site, where the fat is most tightly packed, such as the abdomen or the buttocks.
Once removed, the fat is processed to remove excess fluids, and then re-injected using another needle, which is placed under the skin beneath the wrinkle. This process may be repeated until the desired correction has been achieved.
Harvesting the fat cells for reinjection is often performed in conjunction with other procedures, such as liposuction, tummy tuck or cosmetic breast surgery.
Tulsa Surgical Arts - 7322 91st Street, Tulsa, OK 74133 - 918-392-7900
