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3252 Holiday Court, SUITE 206, La Jolla, CA 92037 | Phone: 858.658.0595

Fat Transfers in San Diego CA

 

Fat Transfer involves harvesting fat from areas of the body such as the abdomen, "love handles," or thighs, refining the harvested fat, and transferring it to areas of the face.

Common target areas for fat grafting include the lower eyes (orbital rim), cheeks, temples,  jaw line, upper lid/brow junction, lips, and smile lines. These are areas of the face that tend to lose volume as we age.

 

Fat transfer works well in younger patients who may not need a facelift, but nevertheless are showing premature aging due to volume loss in the face. Fat can also be used to enhance and improve facial features that have not suffered volume loss, such as inherently flat cheeks or thin lips.

 

In older patients, fat transfer can be combined with a facelift to provide dramatic and natural rejuvenation. The added volume provides a natural scaffolding for the lifted tissues.

 

Examples of Fat Transfer:

 

		Patient had fat transfer to cheeks, sub malar hollows, lips, smile lines. Note increased fullness of face.
Before	After

 

		Patient had fat transfer to cheeks, jaw line, lower eyes.
Before	After

 

		Fat transfer to cheeks, lower lids, jaw line
Before	After

 

Fat transfer in our San Diego practice is generally performed with a gentle "twilight" anesthesia in our AAAHC accredited surgical suite. Patients may also choose local anesthesia with oral sedation for this minimally invasive procedure.  Following administration of tumescent anesthesia to the fat harvest site, the fat is gently harvested using micro cannulas. The fat is processed to remove impurities, and then carefully injected into the areas of concern. There is minimal to no pain after fat grafting, and a majority of swelling resolves within one week, allowing a return to activities.

 

Any cosmetic procedure will have some risk, and common risks with fat transfer include swelling, bruising, and inadequate correction. Lumpiness of transferred fat is also a possibility, however this is minimized with proper technique and use of micro cannulas. Rare nodules may be treated with cortisone or excised. Patients should be aware that transferred fat can be expected to behave as it would in its original location, and unanticipated weight gain or weight loss may be reflected in the transferred fat. 

 

A majority of transplanted fat is expected to survive and become permanent, effectively increasing the volume of the cheeks, lips, temples and remainder of areas affected by aging and fat loss. The key to successful fat transfer is the use of specially designed micro cannulas, which transfer small parcels of fat that are more likely to survive. The harvested fat must also be carefully cleansed prior to injection. Fat transfer is always accompanied by some degree of swelling, however within one week appearance is generally quite pleasing. Complete resolution of swelling may take four to six weeks, however this process is gradual and generally not noticeable to others. There can be some fluctuation of fat volume in ensuing months, as the viable fat revascularizes. At six months, retained facial volume is considered permanent.

 

Excess fat may be stored frozen for up to one year following fat transfer in our La Jolla office. This fat may be used for touch up injections when necessary.

 

For a fat transfer in San Diego or La Jolla California contact Dr. Roy David today at 858.658.0595.