Like other plastic surgeons in Dallas and around the U.S., I’ve seen a marked increase in the number of patients opting for injectable fillers to help stave off some of the most obvious signs of facial aging. Although these products are quite effective at filling in lines and wrinkles, my preferred option for many patients is their very own fat.
Although this option, called fat grafting, may sound strange, its benefits are far-reaching. The procedure begins by harvesting fat from an area of the body that has enough fat to spare. For most people, this is the abdomen or thighs. I use small instruments to collect the fat in a procedure that’s similar to liposuction. Once enough fat is harvested, I purify it to prepare it for injection. Finally, I inject the fat into the treatment areas.
Fat grafting is a bit more versatile than most synthetic injectable fillers, and because it comes from your own body, there are no allergies or adverse reactions to worry about. At my practice, I typically use fat grafting to alleviate the following concerns:
- Thin lips
- Nasolabial folds
- Hollow areas beneath the eyes or in the cheeks
- Deep scars or other irregularities in body contour
In addition to the “natural” factor, fat tends to stay put once it’s injected — you don’t need to worry about it traveling to another part of your body or fading away as months pass. Although swelling around the injection site is normal for a few weeks after treatment, the ultimate results are soft and supple and look completely natural.
