Fat Transfer

Is Fat Transfer Right For You?

Fat Transfer in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, California.

As we age, we lose what many of us endearingly call our "baby fat" in areas such as the face, hands and even our buttocks. Fat transfer performed by Dr. Kim in our Beverly Hills clinic can rejuvenate and restore the volume or "baby fat" loss, reversing the signs of aging without surgery. This safe, long-lasting, well-tolerated procedure produces natural-looking results. Every year, thousands of people undergo successful fat grafting and are pleased with the results.

Facial Fat Transfer can correct the following issues:

• Flat forehead
• Flat and wide facial contours
• Sunken cheeks
• Sunken upper eyelids
• Dark and sunken under eyes
• Deep laugh lines, crow lines, acne pits
• Thin lips
• Weak chin
• Flat nose bridge
• Thin and saggy skin texture

Hand Rejuvenation with Fat Transfer can correct the following issues:

• Portruding underlying vessels, veins and tendons
• Thin and saggy skin texture

Buttock Augmentation with Fat Transfer can correct the following issues:

• Flat buttocks
• Sagging buttocks
• Thin and saggy skin texture

Click here to learn about implant and lift altrenatives to fat transfer for buttock augmentation.

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Why Consider Fat Transfer?

• If you have facial areas that are creased and sunken
• If you desire a more balanced and dimensional porportions
• If you desire more permanent correction than is provided by temporary fillers
• If you wish to improve your backside body contour of the buttocks
• If you wish to revise scars, fill bodily depressions and rejuvenate your hands or face

Benefits of Fat Transfer compared to Fillers

• Low risk of adverse reaction or infection
• Very natural looking results
• Permanent results with 40%-60% fat survival rate
• Added benefit of removal of unwanted fat
• Minimally invasive for quiker recovery

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How is Fat Transfer Performed?

Fat is harvested from one part of your body, prepared and purified, and then carefully reinjected with specially designed needles into the areas that need augmentation. It may be necessary to repeat the fat grafting procedure to achieve the desired result. Fat grafting can be explained as a three-stage process: (1) harvesting (2) purification and transfer and (3) placement.

STEP 1 - Harvesting with Liposuction or Micro-liposucion

With your consultation, Dr. Kim will select areas on your body for fat removal and will inject it with a local anesthetic. He will then create a small incision for minimal scarring and will either use liposuction or micro-liposuction dependent on the donor area and amount of desired fat removal.

STEP 2 - Purification and Transfer

Once enough fat is obtained from the donor areas of your body, Dr. Kim will purify it with a centrifuge to remove impurities and prepare the fat cells for transfer to small syringes that will be used for to inject the fat.

STEP 3 - Placement

After the targeted areas are prepared, Dr. Kim will inject the fat with the a process called micro fat grafting, although labor intensive for the surgeon, ensures the highest percentage of successful fat survival rate. This technique is ideal for no scarring and a natural-looking results. The injection needle is usually passed in and out of the areas to be augmented multiple times. Each time the needle or cannula is withdrawn, a line of fatty tissue parcels is carefully deposited in natural tissue planes. This process is repeated until the desired correction has been achieved, creating a grid of grafted fat. Dr. Kim may  massage the grafted areas to create a satisfactory contour.

The goal of our plastic surgeon and staff is to help you achieve the most beautiful and natural-looking results, as well as to make your surgical experience as easy and comfortable as possible.

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What to expect after Fat Transfer?

Recovery from fat injections is variable and perception of that recovery is even more highly variable. Here is some general recovery information related to facial fat injections:

• The swelling and bruising during the first week are significant, and you will not be ready to see others socially or professionally.
• In the second week the bruising resolves, but you will still have swelling.
• There is great improvement in most cases between the seventh and tenth days, but you may still not be ready to go out in public. Most people who have very little time off from work take one week off, including two flanking weekends. Those who can afford two weeks off or more are even better positioned to return to work.
• By the third week you will begin to look more like yourself. Careful application of makeup can be helpful in camouflaging any residual signs of swelling or bruising.
• Once the swelling recedes, you will be able to appreciate the changes, but subtle swelling may persist for weeks.

Recovery from Liposuction of the extracted areas:

• Because liposuction incisions are small, the scars are also small and are placed in hidden areas. Sometimes depending on the location of fat deposits on your body, the incisions cannot be hidden.
• Most liposuction scars fade and are barely perceptible over time.