Facial Fat Transfer
Restore Natural-Looking Facial Volume Using Your Own Fat
Facial aging is not only about loose skin and wrinkles. Over time, the face also loses and redistributes volume, which can contribute to flatter cheeks, under-eye hollows, deeper folds, and a more tired appearance.
Facial fat transfer, also called fat grafting or fat injections, uses fat from your own body to restore volume and enhance facial contours.
At Maloney Plastic Surgery in Tucson, Dr. Christopher Maloney often incorporates fat transfer into facial rejuvenation procedures, including facelift surgery, when both tissue laxity and volume loss contribute to an aging appearance.
Restoring Facial Volume with Fat Transfer
Youthful facial contours depend on more than smooth skin. Volume and the distribution of facial fat play an important role in the shape of the cheeks, under-eye area, lips, and lower face.
As facial volume changes with age, weight loss, or other factors, the face may begin to appear hollow or less defined.
Fat transfer uses your own tissue to restore carefully selected areas of volume. Fat is harvested through liposuction from another area of the body, processed, and then placed in small amounts into areas of the face where additional fullness is desired.
The goal is not to overfill the face. It is to restore volume in a way that complements your natural facial structure.
View Fat Transfer Before and After Gallery
Areas Facial Fat Transfer Can Improve
Dr. Maloney may use facial fat transfer to improve:
- Flattened or hollow cheeks
- Under-eye hollows and tear troughs
- Temples
- Volume loss around the mouth
- Nasolabial folds
- Areas of facial depression or contour irregularity
- General age-related facial volume loss
Dr. Maloney’s before-and-after gallery also demonstrates fat grafting used alongside facelift, neck sculpting, brow procedures, and eyelid surgery to address multiple aspects of facial aging.
Fat Transfer with Facelift Surgery
A facelift primarily repositions and supports facial tissues. It does not necessarily replace volume that has been lost over time.
For patients experiencing both tissue laxity and volume loss, Dr. Maloney may combine facelift surgery with fat grafting. This allows him to address facial position and volume within the same overall rejuvenation plan.
Fat Transfer vs. Dermal Fillers
Both treatments can restore facial volume, but they offer different approaches.
Dermal fillers provide nonsurgical, targeted volume using injectable products and generally require less downtime.Your body will breakdown and metabolize the filler over a period of 6-24 months.
Fat transfer involves a surgical harvesting process but uses your own tissue. Some of the transferred fat can establish a new blood supply and remain long term. The transferred fat also helps regenerate collagen growth.
The right option depends on the amount and location of volume loss, your goals, your anatomy, and whether you are already considering facial surgery.
Benefits and Considerations
Fat transfer offers the ability to restore facial volume using tissue taken from your own body.
It can provide soft, natural-looking volume and can be particularly useful when several facial areas need to be addressed or when fat grafting is being combined with another surgical procedure.
However, fat transfer is different from placing a predetermined amount of filler. Not all transferred fat will survive. Some fat is naturally reabsorbed during healing, and the amount that remains can vary between patients.
For that reason, the final result takes time to develop, and additional treatment may occasionally be considered.
Consultation and Candidacy
During your consultation, Dr. Maloney will evaluate your facial structure, areas of volume loss, skin quality, and overall facial aging.
He will also evaluate potential donor areas such as the flanks or lower back to determine whether adequate fat is available for harvesting.
Good candidates are generally healthy, have realistic expectations, and have enough donor fat available for the planned treatment.
Your consultation is also an opportunity to determine whether fat transfer, dermal filler, facelift surgery, or a combination of treatments best addresses your concerns.
Meet Dr Maloney
Expertise and Approach
Facial fat transfer requires an understanding of both facial anatomy and facial aging.
Adding too much volume or placing it in the wrong area can change facial proportions rather than restore them. Dr. Maloney’s approach is based on identifying where volume has been lost and restoring it selectively.
Dr. Christopher Maloney is a Harvard-trained, board-certified plastic surgeon who has practiced in Tucson since 2002. Fat grafting is frequently incorporated into his facial rejuvenation procedures, including facelift and neck lift surgery, when volume restoration can complement surgical lifting and repositioning.
What to Expect Before, During and After Treatment
Preparing for Fat Transfer
Once your treatment plan is established, the Maloney Plastic Surgery team will provide instructions for preparing for the procedure.
Because fat must first be harvested from another area, preparation and recovery involve both the donor site and the areas receiving the transferred fat.
Your medications and supplements will be reviewed, and you will receive specific instructions regarding smoking and other factors that may affect healing.
During Facial Fat Transfer
A facial fat transfer procedure takes approximately one hour and is typically performed using local anesthesia, but can be performed under general anesthesia depending on the extent of treatment and whether it is combined with other surgeries.
Fat is first harvested through liposuction, commonly from the flanks or lower back It is then processed and carefully placed into targeted facial areas in small amounts.
Fat Transfer Recovery and Results
Swelling and bruising can occur both where fat was harvested and where it was transferred.
Initially, the treated areas may appear fuller than expected because of swelling and the amount of fat placed. As healing progresses, swelling decreases and a portion of the transferred fat is naturally reabsorbed.
The fat that successfully establishes a blood supply can provide long-lasting volume, although the amount retained varies from person to person.
Because transferred fat behaves like fat elsewhere in the body, significant weight changes can also affect your results.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is facial fat transfer the same as fat grafting?
Yes. Fat transfer, fat grafting, and fat injections are terms commonly used to describe transferring a patient’s own fat from one area to another.
Where does the fat come from?
Dr. Maloney commonly harvests fat from areas such as the flanks or lower back using liposuction.
Can fat transfer be combined with a facelift?
Yes. Dr. Maloney frequently uses fat grafting alongside facial rejuvenation surgery when patients have both tissue laxity and facial volume loss.
Can fat transfer improve under-eye hollows?
Fat transfer can be used to restore volume to the tear trough and under-eye area in appropriately selected patients.
Will I need liposuction?
Yes. Fat must first be harvested from a donor area using liposuction before it can be processed and transferred to the face.
Schedule Your Facial Fat Transfer Consultation in Tucson
If changes in facial volume are contributing to a hollow, tired, or aged appearance, facial fat transfer may offer a way to restore fullness using your own tissue.
Schedule a consultation with Dr. Maloney to determine whether fat grafting, dermal fillers, facial surgery, or a combination of treatments is most appropriate for your goals.
READY TO BEGIN?
Dr. Maloney’s consultations are in two parts. The first part is the virtual consultation where you will fill out some basic information such as the procedure you are interested in having performed, and you will upload a front and side view photo. Dr. Maloney will review these and determine if you are potentially a surgical candidate as well as give you pricing. After this portion is complete, you will come in for the in-person consultation to discuss your goals and the surgery in greater detail.
START YOUR VIRTUAL CONSULTATION WITH DR MALONEY
If you have not received a response within 3 business days, please call our office, as we typically respond within this time frame.
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