Fat Injections

Fat Injections

Fat injection (fat transfer) is a method of skin rejuvenation. Today, having chubby cheeks is a sign of youth and beauty, but as people age, their faces lose fat, and their cheeks become flat and sagging, and appear sunken. Most of these people go to the doctor to restore the lost volume back to their faces and enhance their skins. The doctor may suggest one of the following ways: fat injections, prosthesis implants, fillers and injectable materials.

The Advantages of Fat Injections:

The doctor may suggest a specific method to each patient, but overall, using one’s own body fat is more acceptable for the following reasons:

_The most important advantage of fat injection is the naturalness and smoothness of adipose tissue (fat). With fat injection, the face takes a plump appearance in a way that it does not seem to be artificial at all. Despite the other methods like prosthesis implants, which give an unnatural look to the face and raise a feeling of being artificial, fat injection does not cause such a feeling in the patient.

_Using other methods leads to the partial plumping and modification, but in fat injections, because of transferring fat from one part of the body to another, formation and modification of the desired parts of the body are done in a natural way.

_The other advantage of fat injections compared with other methods, such as prosthesis implants, is that the prosthesis can be placed anywhere in the face or body by making incisions, scarring, and the pain, while fat injections are performed without having skin incisions and leaving a trace of injection or scarring.

_Methods like prosthesis implants are used for augmentation of parts of the face, such as the cheeks, chin, and lips, but fat injection can be used to rejuvenate the whole face and hands.

_Despite the other methods, fat injection can be used to rejuvenate the hands, and fill out the skinny thighs, legs, wrists, or anywhere in the body that needs to be modified.

_Like Botox, fat injection in most cases is performed on an outpatient basis and under local anesthesia.

_The convalescence is short for fat injection and the person can start his or her daily activities after a few days.

From Which Part of the Body Should the Needed Fat Be Harvested?

The needed fat for fat injection is usually harvested from the thighs, abdomen, buttocks, flanks, or around the knees and after centrifugation, the pure fat is injected with a syringe into the area of the face that we want it to look more full.

Stages of Fat Transfer

Fat transfer can be performed either with local anesthesia or with general anesthesia. In the cases where there is a need for a small amount of injection into a specific area of the face, local anesthesia can be used, and when a large amount of fat is to enter the body, general anesthesia is used. Fat transfer has three stages: 1.fat harvesting, 2.fat cells separation, and 3.fat injection.

Fat Harvesting

In the first stage, fat is removed from the areas, such as abdomen, buttocks, and around the thighs. This is usually done without making any incisions. To do this, the required fat is collected first by injecting the serum into these sites and then, by draining or suctioning the injected fluid in the form of sweep movement. That is, fat is drained into the syringe through the injected serum. This stage should be done so carefully and finely that the fat cells do not get damaged.

Fat Cells Separation

In the second stage, the mixture of fat cells and blood cells in the serum are separated from each other. There are usually two methods of separating fat and blood, that one of them is centrifugation. In this method, there is a possibility of damage to fat cells. Another method is to keep the fat fixed in a place, so that over time, the fat cells stand higher because of being lighter, and the blood cells are deposited in the serum, and then the fat cells are slowly separated from the rest of the cells.

Fat Injection

The third stage is fat injection. During this stage, the fat cells are gently injected into the target areas. This injection must be done symmetrically in the face. There would be some extra fat which, if needed, will be used in the revision. Of course, it should be freeze, so that the fat cells may not be damaged.

Post-operative cares

_After fat injections, the areas from which fat is removed, should be tightly dressed with an elastic dressing (bandage), or shape-wear shorts should be worn for two weeks.

_After injections, avoid putting firm pressure on the injected area for two weeks to prevent fat from moving.

_There will occur swelling, bruising, and pain in the injected area and the sites from which fat is removed. It is normal, and they will take a few days to a few weeks to heal.

_In the first weeks of injections, do not expose the injected areas to the sun for a long time and avoid taking a sauna, stream bath, or long shower.

_Apply  cold compresses to the face and areas from which fat is removed for the first three days, then apply warm compresses to reduce swelling and bruising.

_To reduce swelling of your body, you need to limit the use of salt.

_You can take a bath from the second day after injections, but the injected aereas should not be massaged.

_After injections, start walking slowly to prevent blood clots in the legs and reduce swelling in the face, but avoid doing strenuous exercises for several weeks.

_After the Injections, you do not need to remove stitches or dressings,  because there are no stitches involved at the injected site.

_You can use sunscreen and also apply makeup a day after the injections.

_And lastly, take your medication to the end.

What Areas of the Face Can Be Treated with Fat Injections?

Fat injections are used to fill out facial depressions and plump up lips and cheeks. It can also be performed to rejuvenate the long, flat, or narrow faces, and fill out tear troughs or dark hollows around eyes.

Is It Possible to Achieve the Desired Result with Only One Fat Injection Session?

It is better to repeat the fat injection procedure 2-4 times in order to achieve your desired result. To do so, some physicians use freshly drained fat each time, and some others freeze the fat to use it for the patient’s later injections.

The Convalescence and Complications of Fat Injections:

The convalescence of this injection is usually 2 weeks. Complications of fat injections are rare, but sometimes a small fat accumulation may occur, which will be eliminated over time. The other complications include bruising, cyst formation, and irregularities.