Plastic Surgery Guide: Fat Injections
This week our plastic surgery guide looks at fat injections, which can firm, fill out or plump the lips, cheeks, breasts or buttocks. Our plastic surgeon explains the procedure, benefits and and costs.
What are fat injections?
Fat injection is exactly that, the transfer of fat from one part of your body to another. Fat is carefully harvested from your body (such as your tummy or hips) the fat is then purified and injected to firm, fill out or plump up other body part like lips, cheeks, breast or buttocks. Fat injection is also known as fat transfer, lipofilling and fat filling.
Dr Barnouti at Sydney Plastic Surgery uses an advance technique “structural micro fat grafting” to transfer fat from one part to another on your body. Structural microfat grafting lipofills reinstates the fullness that is lost due to aging and to rejuvenate and enhance most areas of the face including the chin, nose, neck, jaw line, nasolabial folds, marionette lines, brow, upper eyelids, temples, lips, breasts, buttocks, and areas of the lower body.
Who can benefit from fat injection or fat transfers to the face?
As you age, the dermis under your skin thins out and the fat underneath diminishes. This can leave the face looking too thin and has the effect of making the skin look like it sags. This happens to women of all body types: small frame, medium frame, large frame.
A fat injection adds fat to the area beneath the skin and has the effect of ‘filling out the face’ to a more youthful state. In addition to filling out wrinkles in the face, highly purified fat injections also enhance the blood circulation in the tissues. This is because there are a small number of stem cells that are collected and concentrated during the fat processing. The stem cells will improve skin quality so the skin feels softer and shinier.
The skin collagen and underlying fatty tissue is responsible for helping you look young, tight and fresh. As you age the skin’s supporting tissues start to melt from the face and vanish and the skin loosens like bags and wrinkles under the eyes, cheeks and chin start to form.
What is the structural microfat grafting technique?
Dr Barnouti prefers structural microfat grafting technique as it has a better survival rate. After the procedure you will not only notice the volume enhancement, but you will also enjoy the improvement in skin quality. Another big benefit of the structural microfat grafting technique is it saves you time as you don’t need top up treatments and are able to return back to your daily life very shortly after your fat injection.
What is the cost of fat injections?
The costs of face stem cells and fat injection ranges between $2,900 to $4,900.