Fat Grafting

How Does Face Lifting with Fat Grafting Work?

For a traditional facelift, our doctor addresses loose skin and sagging by making carefully positioned incisions in key areas on the face, repositioning and sculpting the underlying tissue, re-draping the skin into a new, tighter position, removing any excess, and suturing the skin into its new place.

Fat grafting can further enhance these results, leading to greater improvement and patient satisfaction by directly treating the volume loss in areas such as the nasolabial folds, marionette lines, and cheek region. To perform fat grafting, our doctor removes a small amount of fat from an area that can spare it, such as the abdomen or thighs. Note, since the amount of fat removed is typically only in the range of a few teaspoons’ worth, the liposuction performed should not be considered a contouring procedure.

This fat is refined, then carefully injected into the places where restored volume will round out harsh lines and provide support for the facial skin and tissue. A fuller cheekbone area helps to lift away jowls and fat injected around the mouth smooths the lines and wrinkles. Fat may also be injected below the lower eyelids, in the lips, and elsewhere on the face to address problematic areas that contribute to aging.

Patients will notice an immediate difference, though there will be some bruising and swelling that will fade in the days and weeks after the surgery, and a small amount of the injected fat will be reabsorbed.

Note that fat grafting can be performed as a standalone procedure as well to address specific areas of the face that would benefit from volume. In this case, it often is done in the clinic setting with local anesthetic.