Make Use of Your Unwanted Fat and Gain Your Desired Curves
Many women and men develop fat pockets in undesirable areas, such as the abdomen, outer thighs, and back. Unfortunately, these fatty deposits are often unresponsive to diet and exercise. Because of this, many turn toward plastic surgery procedures like liposuction to eliminate the unwanted excess.
At the same time, many people have places on their body where they desire a little more excess, such as the buttocks, the breasts, the face, or the hips.
What if you could move fat from places you didn’t want it to places you do. Luckily, you can. Fat transfer procedures allow you to make this dream a reality.
Dr. Ali Sadeghi performed fat transfer to the body, breasts, and face in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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What Is Fat Transfer?
Fat transfer, also referred to as fat grafting or fat injection, moves fat from one area of the body to another. For instance, fat from the inner thighs may be transplanted to fill hollow spots in the cheeks. Or fat taken from the abdomen can be moved to fill out the buttocks.
Fat transfer can address the fat loss in the face, lips, breasts, buttocks, hips, chest, and other parts of the body. This procedure is a popular alternative to cosmetic fillers like JUVÉDERM, RADIESSE®, or collagen in the face.
What Are the Benefits of Fat Transfer?
Long-Lasting, Natural Results
While dermal fillers are less costly than fat grafting, the results from dermal fillers usually only last for a few months to a year. Fillers also require multiple sessions to maintain the results. Fat grafting produces a natural appearance that will last much longer. These results are indefinite as long as you maintain a stable body weight. Remember: the fat injection locations will have a greater number of fat cells following the procedure and are more likely to experience the effects of weight loss or gain.
Minimal Invasiveness
Many procedures that seek to provide younger-looking skin involve invasive surgeries, lasers, and other methods. Fat transfer can achieve youthful, fuller skin with a few simple injections of a patient’s fat. Patients generally have a speedier recovery and a lower chance of infections.
Reduced Likelihood of Allergic Reactions
Some injectable fillers, such as Restylane® and JUVÉDERM®, contain chemicals that may cause an allergic reaction. However, with autologous fat grafting, the procedure uses the patient’s fat, which significantly decreases the chance of an allergic reaction or rejection.
Is Fat Transfer Right for Me?
Candidates for fat transfer want to add natural volume to one or more areas of the body or face. Candidates must be in good overall health and have enough fat to harvest and transfer. More fat is needed to transfer to the buttocks or hips; less is needed for a transfer to the face. If you have undergone prior liposuction, you may have scar tissue that could limit potential harvest sites.
You may want to consider a fat transfer if:
- You have areas on your face that appear sunken or creased
- You want more permanent correction than what you can get from fillers
- You’d like to improve your body contour: breasts, hips, buttocks
- You want to revise scars and fill irregular or depressed contours
- You’d like to rejuvenate your hands and face
- You need to reconstruct breasts by filling in irregularities or concealing obvious signs of breast implants
It is essential to have realistic expectations for the procedure. During an office visit, Dr. Sadeghi will explore treatment options with you before making a decision.
What Can a Fat Transfer Enhance?
Fat grafting can be implemented in a variety of ways. Scars respond well to fat transfer, with improvement in their texture, color, and hardness. Fat transfer can also treat painful neuromas (i.e., nerves that have scarred abnormally) that develop in areas of trauma or surgery. In regions of the body where surgery or trauma has caused volume loss, fat can fill those areas and improve the contour deformity.
Fat transfer is appropriate for:
- Breast augmentation
- Buttock and hip contouring (i.e., Brazilian Butt Lift)
- Scars/burns
- Facial rejuvenation
- Amputation pain/thinning of the skin
- Radiation therapy/skin changes
- Chronic migraines with specific trigger points
- Foot fat pad atrophy
- Hand rejuvenation
What Are My Fat Transfer Options?
While fat can be transferred nearly anywhere on the body, the most common areas include the buttocks, hips, breasts, and face.
Buttocks
Fat transfer to the buttocks, also known as the Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL), can make the derrière appear perkier or fuller. This butt augmentation technique has vastly gained popularity for its ability to create natural-looking but substantial fullness. Since the fat is injected into various areas of the butt, you can increase size while also improving lift.
Hips
Fat is often transferred to the hips to create or enhance an hourglass figure. This body type is still widely seen as “ideal” for most women, and fat transfer procedures can accomplish it by transferring fat cells from the abdomen and waist to the hips.
Breast
Fat transfer breast augmentation uses liposuction to take fat from other parts of your body and inject it into your breasts. This is a breast augmentation option for women looking for a relatively small increase in cup size and who prefer natural results. This technique is also widely incorporated into breast lift and breast reconstruction techniques.
Face
Fat harvested through liposuction can be injected into a desired area of the face to add volume and fill creases and wrinkles. Areas most commonly injected include the lips, the sunken areas beneath the eyes, forehead creases, and the deep wrinkles next to the mouth.
How Is Fat Transfer Performed?
Fat transfer is performed as an outpatient service, involving local or general anesthesia, depending on the amount of fat transferred.
Dr. Sadeghi begins by using VASERlipo® or power-assisted liposuction to carefully remove fat cells from the areas of the body with extra fat. Common sites include the abdomen, inner thigh, and “love handles.” Fat removed during a tummy tuck or breast reduction may also be used.
The fat is then processed by centrifuging, filtering, or rinsing. After the fat has been purified, it is injected where needed. The fat is evenly distributed into the area by injecting tiny amounts so that it is surrounded by healthy tissue. This method ensures that the transplanted fat remains in contact with surrounding tissues that supply it with oxygen and nutrients.
A fat transfer procedure typically takes about an hour, depending on the size of the treated area(s).
How Much Does Fat Transfer Cost in New Orleans, LA?
The cost of your fat transfer varies on the number of treated areas and the amount of fat harvested. Dr. Sadeghi will provide you with an accurate cost estimate during your consultation.
What Should I Expect After My Fat Transfer?
How Long Is Recovery After a Fat Transfer?
The areas affected by the procedure will likely be swollen following the treatment. It’s important to compress with a freezer bag filled with ice cubes and water in the first few hours to minimize swelling. The swelling will likely increase until about the third day, and then it will slowly subside.
Patients should feel confident about resuming everyday activities within one week.
Will I Have Scars After a Fat Transfer?
While all surgical procedures involve some scarring, fat transfer offers positive results with minimal scarring. Liposuction scars are small, and the small cannulas used for injecting fat leave almost no scarring whatsoever.
Why Choose Doctor Nola?
Dr. Ali Sadeghi, a.k.a. Doctor Nola, is a double board-certified plastic surgeon specializing in cosmetic plastic surgery and reconstructive breast surgery in the New Orleans area.
Fat transfer patients receive compassionate, one-on-one care in a welcoming environment. The Sadeghi Center for Plastic Surgery uses state-of-the-art surgical techniques to achieve beautiful results with fat transfers and other procedures. Dr. Sadeghi has earned a reputation as a leader in the plastic surgery field, providing the highest quality cosmetic procedures for individuals in New Orleans for nearly two decades.
Fat transfer is a very individualized process. Patients have different goals and different bodies. Dr. Sadeghi will provide input and feedback during your consultation. He is happy to provide all the information you need when deciding whether to have fat grafting or other cosmetic and reconstructive procedures.
Frequently Asked Questions About Fat Transfer
How do I prepare for a fat transfer?
Dr. Sadeghi and his staff provide thorough instructions before your fat transfer procedure. He will answer any questions you may have and review your medical history. He may perform a physical exam and take some pre-procedure photos.
Make sure to be well hydrated before surgery. If you are a smoker, stop smoking at least six weeks prior to the procedure to minimize poor wound healing.
Avoid taking aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, such as Advil® and Aleve®. The fat transfer protocol requires anesthesia, so you will need to arrange for someone to give you a ride home after surgery.
Are the results of the fat transfer permanent?
The fat that establishes itself in the treated areas and survives after the operation is considered permanent. This is generally true for the large majority of fat cells transferred. Not all fat cells will survive the transfer.
What weight should patients be for fat transfer?
There is no minimum weight requirement. You simply need to have enough reserve fat to harvest and transfer.
Can a fat transfer be done more than once?
Yes. If necessary, another procedure can occur after the initial fat grafting procedure without any issues. The second time generally involves a much smaller volume of fat. You should wait for the initial procedure to fully heal before undergoing any additional work because the final fat grafting result may take up to 18 months to become evident.