What is Fat Transfer Surgery?
Plastic surgeons call it autologous fat transfer, but most people refer to this procedure as fat transfer or fat grafting. Whatever you call it, fat transfer allows your surgeon to remove excess fat from areas where you don't want it and then inject it into other parts of your body where it can benefit you. The procedure has become increasingly popular because it can deliver more permanent results than dermal fillers without placing anything man-made into the body the way implants do.
Although the most well-known fat transfer procedure is easily the Brazilian butt lift (BBL), it's not just about your butt! Fat can be transferred almost anywhere in your body. It is frequently injected into the thighs, calves, ankles, and face, just to name a few possible destinations.
How Fat Transfer Works - From Harvesting to Results
A fat transfer procedure begins with liposuction. Your plastic surgeon will remove excess fat from places where you feel you have too much, carefully sculpting and contouring the area as they work. The fat removed during your liposuction is then washed and purified. When this process is complete, your surgeon chooses the healthiest and most viable fat cells and injects them into the desired area.
Fat transfer creates very similar results to dermal fillers. Fillers offer only a temporary solution, however, and require ongoing maintenance. Hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers like those used at Mia Aesthetics typically last six to 12 months, depending on where they're injected and how quickly your body metabolizes (absorbs) them.
Why Patients Choose Fat Transfer Over Implants or Fillers
Dermal fillers and implants both have their benefits, but many patients opt for a fat transfer over these procedures. This is because fat grafting offers several benefits that other options often can't compete with. Those benefits include:
- A permanent solution versus the temporary one offered by fillers
- A more natural look and feel than implants
- A lower risk of rejection or allergic reaction
- Less scarring than implants
- The opportunity for body contouring at fat donor sites
Common Fat Transfer Procedures
Patients are often surprised to learn just how many different areas of the body can benefit from a fat transfer procedure. It would be impossible to list them all here, but we would like to provide an overview of some of the more surprising areas. This brief outline explains where fat can be transferred along with the benefits of doing so.
Fat Transfer Under Eyes
- Fat injected under the eyes eliminates or reduces eye hollows, alleviating dark circles and a tired look
Fat Transfer to Cheeks
- The cheeks often lose fat with age, creating a hollow or sunken look
- Fat transfer plumps the cheeks again for a fuller, younger look
Fat Transfer to Lips
- Creates more voluminous and shapely lips
- Enhances lip symmetry
Fat Transfer to Nasolabial Folds
- Eliminate or reduce smile lines
Fat Transfer to Hips
- Reduce or eliminate hip dips
Fat Transfer to Thighs
- Creates a fuller, more sculpted appearance
- Often used to repair tissue damage due to accident or surgery, restoring smoothness and a more aesthetically pleasing contour
Fat Transfer to Calves
- Sculpts and shapes weak calves, creating a fuller and more toned appearance
Fat Transfer to Ankles
- Improves shape and contour of the ankles
- Reduces pain when walking and standing caused by fat pad loss due to age
Who Is a Good Candidate for Fat Transfer?
Fat transfer procedures work well for most people, but not everyone is a candidate. The best fat augmentation candidates:
- Are in generally good health with any chronic conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes well under control
- Have a healthy BMI and sufficient donor fat
- Are nonsmokers or are willing to quit before surgery
- Want natural volume versus a more dramatic augmentation
- Looking for subtle, long-lasting results
How Long Do Fat Transfer Results Last?
What you see immediately after surgery is not what you will get. You will look swollen and overdone after your procedure, but don't panic! Your plastic surgeon will intentionally inject more fat than necessary during your fat transfer. They do this knowing that only 60 to 80% of the implanted fat cells will survive. Things will calm down as the swelling subsides and some of the newly implanted fat cells die and get reabsorbed by the body. Exactly how many fat cells survive depends on several factors.
One is the technique used by your surgeon. The gentler the liposuction process, the healthier the newly transplanted cells will be. Your aftercare also impacts fat cell survival rates. The more meticulously you follow your post-op instructions, the more cells will survive. Reducing swelling as much as possible and avoiding pressure on the area are both critical. The inescapable facts of your genetics will also play a part, as they will determine how your body heals and what it does with your cells.
After you heal from the surgery and any residual swelling abates, you can expect subtle, natural-looking results. After fat augmentation, you will look like a younger, better version of yourself—but you will still look like you. When done well, fat augmentation procedures don't alter your appearance enough to make you unrecognizable or to make it obvious that you have had plastic surgery.
Fat Transfer Recovery Timeline & What to Expect
Recovering from a fat transfer is different from one body area to another. Most patients return to work five to seven days after a facial fat augmentation. Other areas of the body require one to two weeks of rest. The timeline can vary, however, and may be a bit longer if you heal slowly. Remember that both the fat transfer area and liposuction sites all need time to recover. Your plastic surgeon will likely ask you to wait six to eight weeks before resuming your normal exercise routine.
Swelling can easily last about six weeks after your procedure, but you will notice a marked improvement in half that time (three to four weeks). To help with swelling, your doctor will likely ask you to wear a compression garment. You may need to wear it to reduce swelling for the six to eight weeks that it is expected to last.
It can take up to 12 weeks for ill-fated fat cells to die and be absorbed into the body. For the first few days and even weeks after your procedure, the area that received the fat augmentation will probably look a bit puffy and overdone. This is normal and expected. In 12 weeks, you should be seeing your final results as things settle down.
Risks, Downsides, and Misconceptions
There are a few common misconceptions about fat transfers that we would like to address. First, it's important to understand that liposuction is not a weight loss procedure. Your fat donor sites will look more toned and nicely contoured after a fat transfer procedure, but you won't lose weight.
It's also super important to understand what the word permanent means in plastic surgery. Liposuction is considered a permanent procedure since the fat cells your surgeon removes never come back. Fat transfer is also branded as permanent since the fat cells that establish a blood supply and survive after your fat augmentation aren't going anywhere. (All cells eventually die, but your body replaces them where they are.) Permanent though these procedures may be, you can alter the results of both if you gain or lose a significant amount of weight.
Fat transfers are often not ideal for very lean patients. And like all surgeries, fat transfers come with some risks. You can minimize them by choosing a skilled and experienced plastic surgeon, but you can never completely eliminate risk. Although rare, possible complications after fat augmentation include lumpiness, asymmetry, or excessive fat necrosis (graft failure) that requires a touch-up surgery.
How to Prepare and Maximize Your Fat Transfer Success
The most important thing you can do to ensure that your fat transfer is a success is to choose the right plastic surgeon. We cannot stress this enough. Poor technique and sloppy work can cause complications at worst and produce subpar results at best. No amount of preparation or good post-op care can compensate for poorly performed procedures.
When you've consulted with a plastic surgeon, examined before-and-after photos of their work, and are sure you're in good hands, you can do the following to help prepare for and recover from your fat transfer to help make it a success:
- Pre-op checklist
- Hydrate well
- Eat a nutritious diet to help make your body strong and ready for the trauma of surgery
- Avoid blood thinners and certain other medications as directed by your surgeon
- Quit smoking, if applicable
- Prepare a nest that you can relax and recover in with books, movies, and other low-key entertainment available
- Post-op care and fat retention tips
- Continue eating a healthy diet so your body has healing nutrients, focus on foods that fight inflammation
- Avoid pressure on areas where fat was injected
- Don't smoke or drink alcohol
- Wear your compression garment as instructed