The beauty industry has remained obsessed with the concept of implantation surgery for years. All that seems to be an era done and dusted with new affection for ‘fat transfer’ springing up amongst beauty enthusiasts. Fat transfer procedure is for those who seek to contour their bodies using their own body fat. You have asked these questions for years, why can we not move the fat from here to here? From undesirable place to more desirable place. Fat transfer is here for you. This surgery will remove your fat cells via gentle liposuction from undesirable body part and inject those into desirable one. Some bill it as ‘natural’ plastic surgery because you are injecting your body with something produced by your own body and it is gaining rapid popularity.
"The face, breast, calves, and buttocks are most common. The one or two tiny incisions made to introduce the cannula to harvest the fat require no sutures. Your doctor will then isolate the harvested fat cells from the anaesthetic solution and debris, placing the contents into smaller syringes for injection where filler is needed." said Dr. Maria Rubatti, Plastic Surgeon, CosmeSurge Clinics
Who should consider?
If a patient is very thin, they will not have sufficient fat cells to be harvested and transferred. This procedure is ideal for women with fat deposits in their hips or tummy area, so that the fat can be reattributed.
The fitness regime before the procedure
Depending on your medical history, general health and age, several tests are performed prior to a fat transfer as with any procedure. While nutritionists and fitness trainers that create specialised programmes for you to maintain your ideal physique are recommended, a strict fitness regime is not a requirement before a fat transfer procedure.
The purpose
• The fat transfer procedure works best on face areas that appear wrinkled and sunken, including lips.
• The procedure is popularly used for breast, buttock and calf augmentation. Some bill it as natural augmentation than implants.
• You can consider fat transfer to improve body contours, refill bodily depressions and rejuvenate hands and face
Dr. Sanjay Parashar, Consultant Plastic Surgeon at Cocoona said, “Fat transfer is ideal for people with volume loss, early signs of aging such as deep nasolabial folds, sunken eyes, temporal hollowing etc. it is also good option to reshape gluteal region from unaesthetic squarish contours to more rounded fuller appearance. It can be selectively used in some patients to augment breasts, calves and arms if they have developmental defect, contour deformities or asymmetries.”
Facial fat transfer: The fat is transferred from your stomach and injected into your face to remove or minimise face creases like crow’s feet, forehead wrinkles and laughter lines. A similar procedure is used to fill in acne scars, face depressions including lips and cheeks. You can also correct or minimise the lines between nose and mouth.
Hand rejuvenation: The fat transfer is effective in improving the skin quality over time. Fat transfer procedure is effectively used in filling up wrinkled areas covering underlying tendons.
Moderate breast augmentation: Fat grafting is the best procedure for you if you are only looking forward to a modest increase in your breast size. Your breasts should be in good shape and skin tone already. But drop fat grafting off the list, if your aim is to get a significant increase in breast size. In this case, breast enlargement with the help of fat transfer will not work for you.
Contorting breasts after implants: If your breasts need a moderate contour and a better shape after you go through implant procedure, fat transfer can be helpful. Small residual irregularities after undergoing implant surgery can be filled with fat grafting.
Buttock augmentation: If you desire a more fuller and rounded buttock, fat transfer can be helpful. Fat transfer can help you in getting a more curvaceous buttock without any help from the implants.
The procedure can yield many positive results, nevertheless there are pro and cons to mull over before making the final call
Pros
• Fat transfer from your own body as opposed to artificial implants reduce the chance of allergic reactions
• The results are natural, stay for a long time and are safe.
• Fat transfer does not require prosthesis to rejuvenate face and hands
Cons
• For augmentation, you may require multiple sessions to achieve your desired breast or buttock size
• Even after the swelling and bruising post-surgery goes away, it takes several weeks to a few months to see final results
“It does not require any form of implant or prosthesis and this means that the procedure looks more natural and is less expensive. Both to the eye and to the touch, a fat transfer appears completely natural. Unlike an implant, where a pocket must be created, a fat transfer goes directly into the areas that require filler.
The fat must come from your own body or it is likely to be rejected and can lead to health issues. This means that when a patient receives liposuction, they must decide if they want a fat transfer at that time because it cannot be saved for later.
What can happen in some instances is the reabsorption of the fat cells back into the body and out of the specific areas where filler is needed. We use tridimensional liposuction to collect varied types of adipocyte cells and this greatly reduces the changes of reabsorption”, said Dr. Maria Rubatti of CosmeSurge Clinics Dr. Sanjay Parashar at Cocoona said, “The disadvantages are quality and quantity of fat varies a lot from person to person so may have varied response, the fat survival depends upon several factors such as technique, quality of body tissue and health of the person. Smoking can be detrimental to fat survival, there is minimal risk of infection and lumpiness with this procedure.”
Safety levels
Dr. Maria Rubatti of CosmeSurge Clinics said, “Fat transfers have the same risks as any other surgery like an infection. Hence, surgeons take many preventative measures, prescribing antibiotics during and after the surgery."
Dr. Sanjay Parashar from Cocoona added, “It is very safe due to its autogenous nature so there is no risk of rejection by the body and once it is accepted by the body it remains as normal fatty tissue.”
Success story at CosmeSurge
There have been countless success stories at CosmeSurge Clinics. While there are general similarities, every case is unique. Luz from Argentina is a 32-year-old mother of two. Following her pregnancies, she gained 25 kg and had low self-esteem. We provided her with full-body liposuction, part of which was transferred to her buttocks. After this, she said “You’re the only cosmetic surgeon that I will ever go to.” Later on, we performed a breast lift for her and she is extremely happy and confident.