Fat Transfer | Fat Grafting for the Breasts, Buttocks & Face
Less isn’t always more, and many patients are looking for a procedure to add volume to the areas of the body that need it most. For those who would like to improve the size or shape of their breasts or buttocks, restore or add volume to the face, or fill in folds, wrinkles, or fine lines, a fat transfer may be a good option.
Fat transfer involves the removal unwanted fat from common trouble spots, such as the abdomen, hips, and thighs, so that is can used to to more desirable locations including the breasts, buttock, and face. Seattle cosmetic surgeon Dr. Alex Sobel can help your achieve beautiful fat transfer results for your body and has even served as a major contributor to the development and research behind fat transfer.
How Do Fat Transfers Work?
A fat transfer (or autologous fat grafting) is a minimally invasive, non-surgical procedure that does not require traditional incisions or fillers using foreign materials. This procedure uses your own fat cells as an augmentation agent to enhance parts of the body that need a lift due to aging or that you would like to increase the size of. Popular treatment areas include the breasts, buttocks, and several different facial areas. A fat graft is particularly effective at plumping skin around the eyes, along the cheeks, and at the jawline.
To begin the procedure, Dr. Sobel will remove a small amount of fat from locations such as the hips, thighs, back, or abdomen using liposuction. It’s important to note that a fat transfer does not have the same results as a full liposuction procedure, and the fat removal process will not result in significant body contouring. Discussing your ideal results during your consultation will allow us to help you choose the best procedures to get you there.
Once enough natural fat has been harvested, it is thoroughly purified and transferred to the desired location using blunt cannulas. These tiny hollow tubes have a small hole at each end to allow for the precise placement of fat cells. The fat is injected as tiny droplets, creating a fuller, more voluminous look.
Fat grafting is a hand-harvesting method that requires advanced knowledge of the whole body. Proper purification is essential, and our practice has the best equipment available to ensure safe and effective fat transfers. We have a proven track record of fat transfer success and can help you add volume to your face, breasts, or buttocks without using fillers.
- Key Benefits
- Glossary
- Natural-Looking Results: Fat transfer uses the patient’s own fat, leading to results that look and feel natural.
- Improved Volume and Contours: This procedure can effectively enhance volume in areas like the cheeks, lips, buttocks, and breasts, creating more desirable and proportionate contours.
- Reduction of Fat in Donor Areas: Since the procedure involves harvesting fat from one area of the body (like the abdomen or thighs), it can also lead to a reduction of unwanted fat in these donor areas.
- Minimally Invasive: Compared to implant-based breast augmentation, fat transfer breast augmentation is less invasive, usually involving only small incisions at the donor and recipient sites.
- Reduced Risk of Allergic Reactions: Since the fat used comes from the patient’s own body, there is a lower risk of allergic reactions compared to synthetic fillers or implants.
- Dual Benefit of Liposuction and Augmentation: The procedure combines the benefits of liposuction (fat removal) with the benefits of augmentation in other areas, offering a dual advantage.
- Softer, More Natural Feel: Fat transfer provides a softer and more natural feel to the augmented areas than implants or synthetic fillers.
- Lasting Results: While some of the transferred fat may be reabsorbed by the body, a significant portion remains, offering long-lasting results.
- Improved Skin Quality: The procedure can improve the quality and texture of the skin in the treated areas, as fat grafting can help rejuvenate the overlying skin.
- Reduced Scarring: The incisions used in fat transfer are typically small, resulting in minimal scarring.
- Adipose Tissue: A type of connective tissue that stores fat. This tissue is harvested during fat grafting procedures for reinjection into the face.
- Aspiration: The process of removing fat from the donor site, usually through a cannula and a suction device during fat grafting.
- Autologous: Referring to material (like fat) that is taken from a person’s body and then used in the same individual, ensuring biocompatibility.
- Body Contouring: A cosmetic procedure aimed at reshaping specific areas of the body. Fat grafting is often used in body contouring to enhance or smooth out these areas.
- Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL): A popular type of body fat grafting where fat is transferred to the buttocks to enhance their size and shape.
- Cannula: A thin tube used to extract fat from the donor site and inject it into the recipient site during fat grafting.
- Centrifugation: A process used to separate components of the fat tissue by spinning it at high speed, often used in fat grafting to purify the fat before reinjection.
- Compression Garment: A tight-fitting garment worn after procedures like liposuction and fat grafting to reduce swelling and support the treated areas.
- Donor Site: The area of the body from which fat is harvested for transfer, commonly the abdomen, thighs, or buttocks.
- Edema: Swelling caused by excess fluid trapped in the body’s tissues, a common temporary side effect of fat grafting.
- Facial Fat Transfer: A cosmetic procedure that involves harvesting fat from one part of the body and injecting it into the face to restore volume and reduce signs of aging.
- Fat Grafting (Fat Transfer): The process of transferring fat from one part of the body to another to enhance or augment the receiving area, commonly used in facial rejuvenation.
- Hand Rejuvenation: A procedure involving fat grafting to the hands to restore volume, reduce the appearance of veins and tendons, and provide a more youthful look.
- Harvesting: The process of collecting fat from the donor site, usually using liposuction techniques.
- Local Anesthesia: Anesthesia used to numb a specific area of the body, often used during fat grafting procedures.
- Microfat Grafting: A technique in fat grafting where small amounts of fat are injected in multiple layers for a more natural and smooth result.
- Nanofat Grafting: A refined form of fat grafting where the fat is further processed to improve its injectability and compatibility, especially for areas needing finer correction.
- Natural Breast Augmentation: An alternative to implant-based breast augmentation using the patient’s own fat to enhance breast size and shape.
- Reabsorption: The process by which some of the transferred fat is naturally absorbed and eliminated by the body after a fat grafting procedure.
- Sedation: Medication used to help patients relax or sleep through a procedure. It can be used in addition to local anesthesia during fat grafting.
- Structural Fat Grafting: A technique where fat is grafted in a specific architectural manner to provide support and structure to the treated area, often used in both facial and body contouring.
- Touch-Up Procedure: A follow-up procedure that may be necessary if additional fat transfer is needed after the initial treatment, due to the natural reabsorption of some of the transferred fat.
- Volume Restoration: The primary goal of facial fat transfer, aimed at replenishing lost facial volume due to aging or other factors.
- Zygomatic Area: The region of the face around the cheekbones, often a target area for volume enhancement in facial fat transfer procedures.
Fat Transfer for Fuller Lips
For those who wish to correct natural or age-related lip thinning to achieve full, shapely lips, fat grafting offers a long-lasting lip enhancement option. Your own fat is an ideal filler for your lips as it naturally replenishes what is missing without injecting foreign fillers into your body.
Because a small portion of the grafted adipose (fat) tissue is reabsorbed by the body after injection during fat transfer, this technique produces a soft, natural look that lasts—making it an excellent option for patients who are looking for subtle but noticeable improvement in lip size and shape. If you’re unsure whether fillers or fat injections are right for you, schedule a consultation to learn more and discuss your options.
Facial Fat Transfer
A fat transfer is one of the most effective ways to:
- Add facial volume
- Fill in facial folds or scars
- Lift your cheeks with added fullness.
As your face ages, it loses fullness, which can create facial folds, highlight wrinkles, cause your features to look fallen, and give you a hollow appearance.
Fat grafting can restore fullness to the eyes, cheeks, and jawline by transferring unwanted fat to the places that need it most–without the invasive requirements of a facelift. As an added bonus, some patients report a more radiant appearance and improvement in skin texture and tone after a fat transfer. Fat injections prompt the skin to become fuller and more youthful without introducing foreign fillers into the face.
The procedure is minimally invasive and does not require facial incisions or scarring, making it a popular option for patients who want an alternative to a facelift or brow lift. In addition, those seeking a full facelift or facial feminization may benefit from combining these procedures for ultimate facial rejuvenation as volume cannot be restored by a facelift or brow lift alone. Dr. Sobel will discuss these options with you during your consultation.
Fat Transfer For Fuller Breasts
A fat transfer can subtly increase your breast size for natural yet noticeable results. Additionally, Dr. Sobel can enhance breast augmentation results with fat grafting to hide rippling or implant visibility and create a more natural breast contour. It can correct mild asymmetry or slight unevenness in the breasts.
- Read more on this option for breast augmentation Dr. Sobel’s blog post on Want to Make Your Breasts Bigger Without Implants? Here’s Why You Should Consider Fat Transfer.
Fat transfers can also be perfectly paired with top surgery or other breast procedures, such as breast reconstruction, breast reduction, a breast lift, or a breast lift with augmentation. Dr. Sobel will evaluate your current breast size and body type during a consultation to help you determine if a fat transfer is the best choice for your surgical plan.
Fat Transfer For Better Buttocks
A Brazilian butt lift is a popular procedure that can enhance the size, shape, and proportions of your lower body using fat transfer. Unlike a traditional butt lift, during a Brazilian butt lift, Dr. Sobel strategically conducts liposuction where it’s needed and then precisely places fat injections to provide a natural looking appearance that enhances your current shape.
If you’re seeking extensive body contouring after weight loss, a Brazilian butt lift could be part of a body lift or mommy makeover, which combines procedures to target removal of excess fat and skin. Dr. Sobel has extensive expertise in Brazilian butt lift and can help you achieve a rounder, more lifted backside.
Recovery & Results of Fat Transfers
The recovery period after a fat transfer depends on the extent of liposuction and injections conducted during your fat transfer surgery. In general fat transfer for facial augmentation has a shorter recovery time than fat transfer used for butt or breast augmentation. If fat injections have been combined with other procedures, your recovery time will correlate with the recovery time of those additional procedures.
While you can often notice results immediately after the procedure, it’s important to be patient as any bruising and swelling heals, revealing the final results of your fat transfer. You can view real patient before and after results in our gallery, including those who have had fat transfers to the face, breast, or buttocks.
Is fat grafting right for me? Schedule a consultation with Dr. Sobel to find out.
The only way to know if you are a good candidate for a fat transfer is to have a personalized consultation with Dr. Sobel either virtually on in person at our office. He can evaluate your body type and facial features to determine if a fat transfer is the right procedure to help improve your appearance. Any consultation is free of charge, so contact us today to see if this treatment is a good fit for you.
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Medically reviewed by Dr. Alexander Sobel — Updated on Apr 23, 2024