Fat Grafting

Fat can be harvested from areas like the belly, thighs, or flanks and transferred to fill hollows in the cheeks, under the eyes, temples, jawline, and lips, or to add volume anywhere the face has lost fullness. Different donor sites have different fat quality and survival rates. Your surgeon selects the best harvest area for the volume you need and the recipient site that will receive it.

Fat is harvested gently with low suction, processed to remove fluid and damaged cells, then injected as tiny droplets in multiple tissue planes so each parcel can get a blood supply. Small-volume, low-pressure injection reduces clumping and improves survival. Your surgeon places fat in a way that builds a smooth layer, not one big deposit, so the result feels natural and avoids lumps.

Some extra volume is typically placed because not all transferred fat survives, but chasing absorption with large overfills increases swelling, nodules, and the risk of an overfull result that is hard to reverse. Your surgeon places a modest cushion that balances survival with safety. Retained volume is judged months later when the swelling has gone, and we tell you at that point whether a touch-up session could add what the absorption took away.

Survival varies by area, technique, and patient, and there is no single percentage that works for everyone or every site. Areas with better blood supply, like the cheeks, tend to retain more than high-movement zones like the lips. We give you a range rather than a number and plan for the possibility of a second session rather than trying to solve everything in one go with excessive volume.

The overfilled, swollen look and bruising improve over 2 to 3 weeks, but retained volume is only reliable to judge around 3 to 6 months once the fat that will survive has established a blood supply and the rest has been cleared.

Yes, pressure on the grafted area from sleeping position, aggressive exercise, or weight loss in the early months can reduce how much fat survives. Smoking seriously harms graft survival. We give you specific instructions about protecting the treated area during the critical early weeks so you do not accidentally lose volume you have invested in.

When fat cells die instead of establishing a blood supply, the body may wall them off as oil cysts or replace them with calcium deposits, creating small hard areas under the skin. Uneven texture can also come from injecting too much fat in one spot. Your surgeon uses small, evenly distributed droplets to reduce these risks and checks any persistent lump with imaging to distinguish a benign cyst from something that needs treatment.

Asymmetry is addressed only after the volume has stabilized several months out, usually with a smaller second session that adds fat to the side that resorbed more. Trying to correct it too early means chasing swelling rather than actual survival. We follow your volume with photos and wait for the right time to refine.

Yes, grafted fat behaves like the fat in the rest of your body and can enlarge with weight gain, which may create an overfilled look in the treated area if you put on a significant amount of weight. Maintaining a stable weight protects the result. We recommend settling at a weight you can keep before surgery so the graft volume is matched to your steady-state body.

A second session is best done once the first has stabilized, usually around 3 to 6 months later, when you can see what survived and what is still missing. Going back too soon means you are guessing at absorption rather than filling a known deficit. Your surgeon evaluates your volume at follow-up and plans a second round only when the gap is clear and worth filling.

Overfilled fat is difficult to reduce selectively without creating dents or irregularity, which is why we prefer to underfill slightly and add more later rather than overfill and try to take back. Small areas can sometimes be treated with steroid injections or micro-liposuction, but the precision is limited. Your surgeon discusses this limitation before surgery so you know that restraint upfront is safer than aggressive filling.

Hyaluronic filler offers precise, immediate volume that can be dissolved if needed, but it is temporary and requires repeat treatments. Fat grafting provides long-term volume from your own tissue that, once established, does not need maintenance injections, but it is less reversible and less precise for fine millimeter work. Your surgeon discusses which option fits your needs, the area being treated, and whether you prefer the control of a temporary filler or the long-term nature of your own fat.