What is face fat grafting useful for?
Fat grafting of the face is a way of replacing volume loss due to ageing, excessive removal during surgery or post-trauma.
It can be harvested from any site there is fat, and not much is needed to achieve good results (only a few mls in most areas).
Advantages of face fat grafting
It is a useful alternative to fillers which are not permanent, whereas the fat that remains and takes is permanent provided a stable weight is maintained. It is cost effective in conjunction with other surgery, such as fat grafting of the breast, facelifting or other procedures.
As a stand alone procedure, it is an expensive alternative to hyaluronic acid fillers if only a small area is needed, which although not permanent, can be done in the rooms without the need for day surgery. For more information on fillers click here.
Fat grafting may have an additional skin remodelling effect in some areas of scarring compared with fillers leading to softening and improvements of the overlying skin. As it is a person’s own tissue, there is no risk of foreign body reactions as there is with fillers (although this is very low with non-permanent fillers).
It can be a good idea to try a facial filler first, and then if it works, proceed to fat grafting. Filler is reversible with a dissolution agent, fat grafting is not. Particularly patients prone to significant weight fluctuations are better off with fillers.
