Fat Transfer, also called Fat Auto-Grafting or Fat Transplantation, is the removal of fat from one area of your body and its transfer to another that has lost its fat and developed a depression or furrow.
As part of the natural ageing process, loss of subcutaneous fat from the face contributes to the downward sagging of the skin as well as the formation of facial furrows and depressions. Variations of technique in Fat Transfer for facial rejuvenation have been proposed over the years and some have reportedly been very successful. However, as useful as Fat Transfer is for 'corrective' purposes (see below), in his patients' best interests Dr Mayson prefers to use whenever possible one or more of the many available alternatives for facial rejuvenation.
Although your own fat is a natural and non-allergenic material to augment areas of the face or to replace the fat lost through ageing, Dr Mayson suggests patients carefully consider the following facts before choosing to have a Fat Transfer for Facial Rejuvenation or Cheek/Chin/Lip Augmentation.
there can be no guarantee that the transferred fat will survive and additional fat transfers may be required at additional cost.
although the transferred fat cells may 'survive', they may also perish in which case the correction is partly or fully lost.
Partial loss is the worst outcome scenario as it produces facial asymmetry and surface irregularities that may not be correctable by any means whatsoever.
necrosis of the transferred fat cells may result in calcification of the area with resulting hard surface irregularities that are impossible to remove or correct.
Accordingly, Dr Mayson only recommends Fat Transfers in Facial Rejuvenation for those rare instances when there are absolutely no other alternative options available.
WHAT IS FAT TRANSFER BEST FOR?
Fat Transfer is best reserved for the correction of:
- Facial depressions or depressed scars caused by surgery or trauma
- Depressions caused by over-zealous fat removal during liposuction
IMPORTANT WARNING: NEVER CONSIDER FAT TRANSFER AS A MEANS OF BREAST AUGMENTATION!
Dr Mayson has always believed that Fat Transfer to breasts should be a prohibited procedure because of the difficulty in differentiating any resulting micro-calcification from the micro-calcification associated with breast cancer. This was tragically illustrated in 2005 when a woman who had received a Fat Transfer by a Sydney doctor for breast enlargement sustained micro-calcification that could not be distinguished from the micro-calcification seen in breast cancer - with the result that breast cancer could not be excluded and she ended up having a double mastectomy. Subsequent examination of the removed breasts failed to show any evidence of breast cancer!
HOW IS IT DONE?
Most cases of Fat Transfer are performed in our own Clinic under Local Anaesthesia with or without Intravenous (Twilight) Sedation. Fat is first removed from a donor site such as the abdomen or thighs using a small needle attached to a syringe.
Once removed, the fat is processed to remove excess fluids and oils and then injected into the area needing the correction. Serial treatment sessions at three-monthly intervals may be required to obtain the desired degree of correction.
WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT AFTER THE PROCEDURE?
Essentially there is no 'downtime' after Fat Transfer. Any post-operative discomfort can be easily controlled with simple analgesics such as Panadol/Panadeine. Swelling and bruising are usually minor and disappear within 2-3 weeks. Any facial bruising in the meantime can be camouflaged with make-up. As some of the transferred fat can fail to 'take' and be lost, more than one treatment session may be necessary to achieve the best possible correction.
HOW LONG WILL THE CORRECTION LAST?
Essentially, this will depend on your tissue response at the recipient site and its ability to keep the transplanted fat cells alive. As these factors are very much an individual response, no guarantees can ever be given as to how long the correction will last. Essentially, there are three possible outcomes:
- a successful and permanent correction from a single treatment;
- only some of the transferred fat cells may survive and further sessions may be required to achieve the desired degree of correction;
- in some instances none of the transferred fat cells survive and the initial correction is lost completely.
Essentially, the outcome for any given person is very unpredictable. What can be said, however, is that in recent years more refined methods of processing the harvested fat and better instrumentation for injecting it have improved the survival rate of transferred fat cells.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF FAT TRANSFER?
Being your own tissue, there is no chance of an allergic or inflammatory skin reaction. If you have body depressions due to trauma or over-zealous removal of fat at liposuction, replacement of the lost fat through Fat Transfer is probably your best option.
