How Safe and Effective Are Fat Injections?

How long do fat injections last? Is it true that most of it could be absorbed by the body within weeks? Safety? Thanks!

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3 Doctor Answers | Asked by BabafejuA6 in Minnesota

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Fat injections are great if well done.

Hi! Fat injections or fat transfer is safe and effective. But you really need an expert surgeon, because it is difficult to do well. With good technique, 80% of the injected fat actually survives, and you see the final result in 4 months.

Fat graft transfer survival; "how long do they last?"

Fat cells, despite being easy to put on, are extremely delicate cells that may easily die. Therefore predicting survival can be difficult following transplantation to a new site. Reports vary wildly in the literature and can range from 10-80%. Once fat is transferred and if it survives, it has been shown to last for a long time (more than 10 years). Techniques to optimize survival are constantly being developed but have not yet produced a consistent result in the hands of most... more

Otto Joseph Placik, MD

33 reviews

Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Fat Injections

They are fairly safe if done properly. There is the risk of infection and fat necrosis or hardening. It also depends on the area you are injecting and how much and the technique used. Some of the fat does reabsorb or go away, but some does stay. How much stays depends again on the technique and area injected. But most often I always tell the patients that not all the fat stays and anywhere from 40-80% of it will stay. It just depends.