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Fat Transfer Surgery

What is a Fat Transfer?

The fat transfer procedure is known as “autologous fat transplantation” or “microlipoinjection.” This procedure involves extracting fat cells from the patient’s abdomen, thighs, buttocks, or elsewhere, and re-injecting them beneath the skin of the patient’s recipient site.

Fat is withdrawn from the patient with a syringe that has a large bore needle or with a liposuction cannula. The fat is prepared and then injected into the patient’s recipient site.

fat transfer fat grafting Dr. Serebrakian of Bay Area Laser Cosmetic Surgery Center

Common Areas for a Fat Transplant

  • Cheek and chin implants
  • Hands
  • Facial
  • Lip
  • Buttocks
  • Breast
  • Repair of inverted nipples

What Areas is Fat Taken From for Fat Transfer?

  • Lower stomach
  • Inner thighs
  • Inner knees

The Hand Fat Transfer Procedure

A wrinkled, bony hand with large veins, sun spots, and deep grooves can reveal an advanced age even though the patient’s face, breasts, or body have been surgically rejuvenated. Consequently, plastic, dermatological, and cosmetic procedures are available for making the patient’s hands also look younger. Dermal fillers such as Restylane® and JUVÉDERM® can be used, but the longer lasting method seems to be fat transfer via injection, which is reported to last for years.

BLONDE WOMAN

The Facial Fat Transfer Procedure

The most common facial locations for facial fat transfer include:

  • Sunken areas beneath the eyes
  • Filling in nasolabial folds, the deep wrinkles next to the mouth often referred to as “laugh lines”
  • Forehead creases
  • Cheek Augmentation

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Lip Augmentation in Pinole, CA

Tiny, punch-like incisions are made at one corner of the patient’s mouth. Then one to two millimeter thick strips of fat from the donor site are taken and gently worked into the upper and lower lips for a plumping effect that is reported to be safer, softer, and more natural than lip augmentation with popular injectable facial fillers.

Fat Transfer Buttock Augmentation in Larkspur, CA

Many women and a growing number of men want a curvier, rounder, and shapelier rear end. While thin patients must opt for insertion of special buttocks implants to fill out their derrière, patients who can spare the fat can undergo fat injection in a surgical procedure known as gluteoplasty or the Brazilian Butt Lift.

Working through small incisions in each gluteal cheek, the surgeon places fat cells at dozens of levels throughout the patient’s rear.

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It’s an exacting procedure! On average, the perfect deposit of fat cells is about the size of a single pearl or a pea. The drops are placed in long rows. After the procedure, the patient must wear a compression garment for about six weeks and sleep on his or her stomach for about a week. In most cases, non-athletic activities and driving can be resumed in about five days.

What is a Fat Transfer Breast Augmentation?

Fat grafting to enlarge female breasts is done not only for cosmetic reasons but also to correct deformities. Deformities that can be corrected include a mastectomy, breast implant collapse, and/or tuberous breast, a condition in which the adult breasts fail to develop in puberty and result in extremely small, narrow, and sagging breasts. Studies show that long-lasting natural improvements in the size and shape of the breasts are possible with a fat grafting technique. Breast fat transfer procedures have been found to be “safe and effective” for augmenting breasts, according to a 2001 report by The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS).

With this procedure, the donor fat is harvested, centrifuged for refinement, and screened for impurities. Then, in a four to five hour procedure, the fat is injected into the layers of the breast through six to eight 2mm incisions in each breast.

(1mm is the width of a single line drawn by a ballpoint pen.) Blunt syringes and cannulas are used to place the fat so that no damage is done to blood vessels or nerves.

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When breast fat transfer is performed, fat is placed retroglandularly only, which means that it is placed in the plane occupied with the natural breast fat tissue. The fat is layered from the pectoralis major muscle up through the top of the breast, and the fat injections are used to shape the breasts for a beautiful, natural-looking result.

Schedule A Consultation

For more information about the fat transfer procedures available, please call our Pinole office at  510-724-8282 or our Larkspur office at  415-461-5755 to schedule a consultation. Dr. Armen Serebrakian serves San Francisco, Larkspur, Pinole CA and surrounding areas.

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