What better revenge could there be than having the fat removed from somewhere where you really “don’t exactly need it” and putting it to work, restoring a natural smoothness and youthful look to the face? Or perhaps you’d love it if your own fat could be used to give you a fuller, healthier, and lifted look to the cheeks, or add more plump and shape to the lips? Keep going–Why not take that fat and erase the lines and folds around the mouth, and create a softer, rested and more invigorated overall look? Yes, it can be done! Fat is now used by Plastic Surgeons to do all of these things. Your own body fat is natural, soft, it lasts and lasts, and most of us have at least a little to spare. But can’t you get similar improvements with those fabulous “fillers”? Sure, but the more you use the more you’ll pay, which could result in spending a couple of thousand dollars for all of those injections. And then you get hit by those costs (and injections) again every few months? That doesn’t sound like an ideal plan. Implants could be another option–but they are not appropriate for all of these areas. There’s really nothing in the world of implants that is worthwhile for the lips and the lines around the mouth. And cheek implants–they can get infected, or shift around, even years after they are placed. Fat injection/sculpting is looking more and more to be the superior, sophisticated and elegant solution to most of the age related problems of the face.
One simple fact–the face loses its volume as we age–and the volume it loses is mostly your facial fat. Restoring this loss with one’s own fat, in a sculpting and artistic way, literally “restores” the youthfulness of the face. The “traditional face lift” where “the tighter the better” is the goal–this is not a beautiful or appealing look. A gentle re-tightening of loose facial and neck skin–with simultaneous fat injection/sculpting to fill out, reshape, restore and smooth is a much more desirable and natural look. Fat is injected–that means that there are no incisions, no stitches, no wounds to heal and no scars! Fat can also be used even if aging isn’t the culprit. Fat can be used for thin lips that have always been too thin, or for cheeks that have always looked too flat. Here comes fat to the rescue! What are the downsides to this amazing procedure? There is some extra swelling that comes with fat injection/sculpting, and not all of the injected fat will survive the transfer. But most of the fat persists and will essentially last for years to come. Touch-ups are a typically minor procedure so that more fat injection/sculpting can always be done if desired.
More and more research is proving the long-term cosmetic advantages and benefits of fat injection/sculpting for the face, for the cheeks, for around the mouth, and for the lips. Fat can also be used around the eyes to eliminate that “hollowed” look, or even to create a lifted look to the eyebrows, without a brow lift surgery! Perhaps you’ve already heard about how great fat injection/sculpting is for enhancing and plumping the buttocks as a part of a “Brazilian Butt Lift”, but soon you’ll likely be hearing more about the ongoing studies where fat is being used in a similar way for enhancing the breasts…without implants! Until then, please don’t hate your fat. To a Plastic Surgeon–and maybe one day for you–it’s as valuable as gold!
Dr. Lyle Back is originally from New York City, receiving his medical and surgical training at Rutgers Medical School, Cooper Hospital – University Medical Center, and Ohio State. He is Board Certified in General Surgery (ABS) and Plastic Surgery (ABPS). He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS), and a longstanding member of the premier American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). He served as a Professor of Plastic Surgery at Temple University and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children and performed reconstructive surgery with “Operation Smile” in Vietnam. He specializes in the full range of the most modern and state of the art facial cosmetic surgery procedures and non-surgical cosmetic enhancement techniques available today.
