You will fight the signs of ageing for the rest of your life, and there is perhaps no more important battlefield in this battle than the face. As you get older and lose the structural proteins and subcutaneous fat that kept your skin smooth and your face contours healthy and full in your twenties, you have some options. Dermal fillers, cosmetic surgery, and autologous fat transfer, or facial fat grafting, are three of the most effective weapons you have to fight back.
Hyaluronic acid is a common ingredient in dermal fillers used to restore volume to the face (HA). HA is a naturally occurring molecule in the body that is used because of its incredible ability to draw in and retain water molecules. These products are excellent for many people, but facial fat transfer is becoming a popular option for those who do not want surgery but want the longer-lasting and potentially more dramatic results that dermal fillers can provide.
If you're considering facial fat grafting to combat the early signs of ageing on your face, here are five things we tell our patients at Ambrosia Aesthetics, Mumbai.
A small amount of excess fat cells are taken from donor sites such as the thighs, buttocks, belly, and back and injected into areas of your face where you want to change facial contours, add volume, and tighten your skin during facial fat grafting.
Because some fat cells are reabsorbed and metabolised by your body, more fat cells are harvested and transplanted than necessary. When your recovery is complete, the cells that survived the move will remain in their new location indefinitely. The critical step in this process is the preparation of the cells for transfer. Using the gold-standard approach in fat processing for transfer ensures the highest rate of fat cell survival and the best possible results.
Until recently, facelift surgery was the most common way to treat ageing signs in the lower third of a patient's face. This is due to the fact that the lower third of your face will experience the most severe sagging skin once you begin to lose significant reserves of collagen. In some cases, a facial fat transfer can be used to avoid surgery when treating mild sagging skin by restoring important skin volume. In cases where the sagging is severe, surgery may be required to remove excess skin.
Some patients may simply refuse surgery, or they may be unable to have surgery due to medical reasons. Although a facial fat graft is a surgery, it is a minor one. When other surgeries are not an option or other risks are present, a facial fat graft may be the best, least invasive course of action.
The donor and transfer sites will have very small incisions. Because the device used to harvest fat cells and the needle used to re-inject it are both quite small, facial fat transfer is far less invasive than many other facial cosmetic procedures. This also allows for a quicker recovery than with other types of facial plastic surgery.
One of the best things about a facial fat graft from a medical standpoint is that it uses your body's own fat cells to increase volume and restore your youthful appearance. A facial fat graft may pose the fewest risks for patients who want to restore facial volume because it does not use foreign devices such as implants or any product that even carries a minor risk of allergic reaction.
“How much weight will I lose?” is a question that frequently arises during consultations from patients who are ecstatic about the prospect of transferring fat from one area of the body to another.
A facial fat graft is not a replacement for weight loss. The amount of fat extracted via liposuction from the donor site will be insignificant. However, once your recovery is complete, the procedure can be a great catalyst for a healthier lifestyle!