Fat Injection (Autologous Fat Transplantation)
Certifications
The fat under the skin acts as padding and gives volume, shape and smoothness to our body. With ageing the volume of fat decreases and our body, especially the face, neck and and hands lose the suppleness of youth. Several fillers are available but fat is one of the best soft tissue filler material. Fat can be taken from one part of the body (most commonly - thighs, waist and stomach) and injected into another. It can be used to smoothen frown lines on forehead or fill in other sagging parts of face or hands.
Fat is harvested or removed from the chosen site with a cannula under local anaesthesia. Excess fluid is removed from the fat and is reinjected with very fine cannula as multiple small injections into the treatment area. The micro-injections ensure a smooth distribution of fat and that the fat attains a blood supply and remains viable.
The advantage of using fat as filler is that it is natural, as harvested form your own body and is less likely to cause allergic reactions. It can be combined with liposuction with the benefit of two procedures in one sitting.
There maybe some bruising, tenderness or numbness in the donor and grafted area but it subsides within a couple of weeks. There is a small risk of infection and bleeding. Over or under correction of the defect can occasionally happen and the distribution of fat may not be smooth.
Over time some of the fat may be absorbed with loss of some volume. This is specially so if at the time of the procedure the fat distribution was not even. With the latest technique of fat microinjection, in which Dr.Anup Dhir specializes, the chances of this are very low.
Even though the procedure sounds simple, a lot of experience and expertise if required to achieve good cosmetic results. Make sure that the procedure is done by a qualified and experienced cosmetic surgeon. Fat grafting can be used to improve scars and post burn deformities as it has regenerative potential. ADRC's or adipocyte derived regenerative cells can be separated and used either with fat or alone to treat certain deformities.There is a lot of future potential in fat grafting & it will be extensively used in regenerative medicine in coming days.