What Is Facial Fat Grafting?
Volume loss is a key part of facial aging. Here is how fat grafting restores a youthful appearance.
Facial fat grafting (also called fat transfer or microlipofilling) is a procedure that removes fat from one area of your body (usually the abdomen or thighs) and injects it into areas of the face that have lost volume due to aging.
- What it addresses:
- Hollow cheeks or temples
- Deep nasolabial folds
- Tear troughs (hollows under the eyes)
- Thin lips
- Marionette lines
- Facial asymmetry from volume loss
- General deflation of the face
How it is performed:
- Harvesting: Fat is gently suctioned (liposuction) from the donor area
- Processing: The fat is purified to remove oil and blood
- Injection: The purified fat is injected into targeted areas of the face in small amounts
- Integration: The body accepts the fat as its own tissue
- Duration:
- 50β70% of the transferred fat typically survives permanently
- Multiple sessions may be needed for optimal results
- Results are permanent for surviving fat cells
- Swelling and bruising for 1β2 weeks
- Small incisions at the donor site (heals to small scar)
- The result evolves as swelling resolves and the fat takes
- Final result at 3 months
Recovery
Clinical Guidance
Facial fat grafting transfers your own fat to areas of the face that have lost volume, providing natural, long-lasting rejuvenation. It is often combined with facelifts and other procedures for comprehensive facial rejuvenation.