Facial Fat Graft

The facial fat grafting injected into the face is similar to injection of fillers. It utilizes similar injection points, but just a slightly larger diameter blunt tip cannula (the tip of the injecting needle is not sharp like traditional needles). The donor site is where the fat is obtained on your body. This is usually somewhere on the belly, and is harvested similar to liposuction techniques, except only a small area is needed to harvest, as only small amounts of fat are needed in the face to achieve a cosmetic improvement.

For injection into the face, the procedure has similar risks to traditional off-the-shelf fillers. Namely, there is a very small risk of injection into a blood vessel. The risk of this may actually be lower for fat injection, as the injecting cannula used is larger in diameter and blunted at the tip, thereby making it more difficult to inject into a small vessel of the face. There is a very low risk for infection, and asymmetry or incomplete correction of the defect.

Fat graft may be better than traditional fillers as there no substantial risk of "reacting to the filler", as the injected fat is your own cells! More recently there has been concerns raised about fat grafting when the fat is dramatically altered either mechanically or by treating the fat chemically. This is still being researched and is one of the reasons Dr. Albright does not substantively process the fat.

A unique issue with fat grafting is the variability of fat graft "take", meaning who much of the tissue injected will survive the transfer. Although this is a well documented phenomena, the volume of fat that survives is not easily predicted. As with any procedure a small touch-up may be desired. But as far as long term facial filling, fat can't be beat!

In general, placing breast implants under the muscle allows them to appear much more natural. It decreases the rate of infection associated with the implants and decreases the rate of complications associated with the implants. It allows the breast implants to sit higher for longer and have more support and less tendency to drop or droop with time. There is also lower incidence or rate of capsular contracture. In other words, the breast implants tend to stay softer for longer under the muscle than they do over the muscle.

Yes. Dr. Albright is often able to combine this procedure with both reconstructive and cosmetic procedures. As liposuction is commonly performed during body contouring or breast surgery, some of this fat can be utilized to inject into the face, while the patient is under anesthesia. Ask Dr. Albright if this is a possibility for you!

Fat can be injected in almost any region of the face, given certain precautions for vessel injury. Fat can be used to smooth over (fill up) creases/folds in the face, or to provide general bulk to a structure. The most commonly treated deep wrinkles (rhytids) in the face are forehead, glabella (between the brows), eyebrows, around the eyes, cheeks, and around the mouth. Common areas needing additional volume include cheeks, lips, chin, and prejowl (area just inside the skin that usually hands past the bottom of the jaw, named the 'jowl'). Dr. Albright will give you an in-depth assessment of options for you.