Fat Transfer for Wrinkles & Pigment

Fat transfer, also called autologous fat transplantation or micro-lipoinjection, plumps up facial features with a patient's own fat and is a popular alternative to other surgical wrinkle treatments, such as face lifting. Fat transfer to the face is a safe, natural, non-allergenic procedure designed to restore the youthful facial fullness lost over time. It can also be used to correct facial deformities. Since fat transfer uses your own fat cells, you can never have an allergic reaction, because the fat is from your own body, and not a foreign substance. 

With fat transfer it is possible to have fat liposuctioned from one area of your body, such as the abdomen or thighs, and then transferred to any other area of your body, such as the face. The procedure is performed using only local anesthesia, with thin 1-2 mm cannulas, leaving almost no visible marks on the skin. 

Once transferred, the fat establishes a blood supply and begins to live in its new location. Of course, some of the fat may fail to find a new home, and can be reabsorbed by the body. Dr. Ilya Reyter finds that most of his patients experience minimal fat reabsorption. However, a touch-up fat transfer procedure may be necessary to obtain optimal results. 

In addition to treatment of facial volume loss, fat transfer can also correct aging of the hands, as well as post-surgical and post-traumatic sunken defects of the skin. But not every area of the body responds well to fat transfer. The breasts, for instance, tend to develop areas of micro-calcifications after fat transfer, which can obscure the results of screening mammograms. 

What are the benefits of fat transfer?

    * Transferred fat can last for years.
    * Fat transfer can be very cost effective when combined with another procedure.
    * Stem cells in transferred fat may play an important role in restoring a youthful appearance.