Fat grafting, simply put, is the transfer of fat from one part of the body where it is in excess to another part. The excess fat is then used for cosmetic and aesthetic purposes.
Many young girls dream of having lips or cheekbones like that of the most talked about celebrity in Tinseltown-Angelina Jolie. These days the media is full of reports about a lot of female Hollywood stars using liposuction, botox, and other treatments to retain their youth and beauty.
Facial fat grafting is an important treatment for those who crave for a wrinkle-free look or smooth facial skin. It means that the fat content from a part of the body is transferred to another part in order to enhance it. Facial grafting specifically relates to injecting fat in a particular area of the face to remove wrinkles or to increase the elasticity of the skin.
Process of Fat Grafting
Although the process of fat grafting is somewhat similar to plastic surgery, it is not exactly the same. In this process, fat is withdrawn from a part in the patient’s body, usually with a syringe that has a large bore needle or by liposuction cannula. Then, the fat is prepared according to the practitioner’s favored method, removing blood and other unwanted things that could result in an infection and other undesirable side effects. Finally, it is injected into the recipient spot of the patient. This is the common procedure, but a few doctors prefer to cut or excise small strips of fat from the body and place the tissue at the recipient site. The fat is not injected in the recipient site in this process. Fat injections are always laid down through various layers of skin and muscle, to facilitate the fat cells to find nearby blood supply. The doctor often injects somewhere around 30% more fat than required as the fat gets absorbed in the body. The best donor areas of the body, according to doctors, are the lower stomach, inner knees and inner thighs. This process is also known as fat autographs, autologous fat transplantation, fat injecting or microlipoinjections.
Facial Fat Grafting
The fat from a part of the body is injected to the part of the face which has to be enhanced. Some very common facial locations for fat transfer are the sunken areas beneath the eyes, the deep wrinkles next to the mouth, often referred to as ‘laugh lines’, and forehead creases. Fat grafting is also used for cheek and lip augmentation. Alterations of these facial parts can give an individual the sought after face lift. Any kind of grafting needs meticulous post-operative care. There are a few things which the person undergoing the process should keep in mind. It will help in retaining the effects of the fat transfer to the recipient site.
Follow-Up
Here are a few common post-operative pointers. It is imperative that patients are examined by the doctor in the first week to check the donor and recipient sites. Sometimes, patients might experience slight edema and minimal amount of bruising. The doctor can reassure the patient about these things being common. Another thing which is important in post-operative care is that appointments for the next 6-8 weeks should be made to check the progress of the grafting. A gap of 3 months is advised by doctors in case of another process of grafting.
Facial fat grafting has become one of the most popular methods, not only to enhance a person’s beauty, but also to repair deformities of the face.
