Too Much Fat Injected During Transfer-looking Distorted and Freakish?

I had almost 80 cc's of fat injected during a facelift to cheeks, eyes, lower face, chin, lips and temples. Its approx 1 month out and it looks awful. All i keep hearing is it will get better and just give it time. Will one of you please tell the reality of how it will actually look? I was a very pretty woman before and now I look like a drag queen. I can barely leave the house and embarassed to be seen in public. I went to a top doc who keeps saying just give it more time. how can this be?

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face 1 month post-op

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9 Doctor Answers | Asked by RedRoxie

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Too much fat grafted with face lift?

I am sorry you are having an unhappy time with your face lift fat grafts. My thoughts - 50 - 90% of injected fat will absorb. In the meantime, You are very swollen both from the face lift and the fat grafts. The swelling will subside and the fat grafts will absorb over 6-12 weeks. 80 ccs is a lot - but some surgeons use a lot because so much absorbs. See your surgeon to be sure there is no fat necrosis (hard, painful lumps) or liquefaction (liquid fat)... more

Fat Grafting - Too Much of a Good Thing?

As with any cosmetic surgical procedure, there can certainly be 'too much of a good thing'. Over-grafting of fatty tissue will distort facial features and produce unnatural proportions that look like surgery rather than appearing to turn back the clock. An important part of my preoperative evaluation is reviewing photographs with patients from their twenties and thirties (and from their forties for patients in their sixties and seventies). Such photographs are invaluable in confirming the... more

Michael Law, MD

17 reviews

Raleigh-Durham Plastic Surgeon

michaellawmd.com

Too much of a good thing?

One month post-op is still early. Howevever, too much fat transfer in one setting could results in fat necrosis and poor fat take. Too much of a good thing can lead to hard lumps and pumps. Fat injection is a very refine and delicate procedure. The grafted fat survive by forming new blood supply to each individual fat cell. Therefore, the amount of fat being transfer in one setting is the key success.Over-grafting does not necessarily results in good result. It could lead to hard... more

Too Much Fat Transfer During Facelift?

As others have pointed out, at one month it is too early to judge if too much fat was transfered resulting in an unnatural appearance. For certain, you still have some swelling from the trauma of the procedure, and the fullness in the treated areas will definitely improve. In addition, the amount of fat survival is variable, but it does not all survive, so for this reason you should also see improvement. Both of these processes should result in a better overall appearance, so try not to be... more

Fat transfer with a facelift

Dear Blondie, The combination of the 2 procedure definitely causes prolonged swelling Also, the fat will resorb as it heals I can feel how it is hard to wait, but please be more patient Once the face stops changing (i.e. the swelling has stabilized), then you can assess what to do next Best regards, Nima Shemirani

Most surgeons over correct with fat grafting anticipating only partial "take" of the fat.

Making judgments about volume after facelift with concurrent fat injections is impossible at one month. The situation should improve substantially over the next few months as the swelling goes down and a portion of the fat graft that didn't survive is removed by the body.

Swelling and Distortion of Face One Month After Fat Transfer

Hi Blondie, Sorry to hear about your dilemma. Prior to fat transfer, patients need to be informed of how they may appear very swollen for a few weeks after the treamtent. The problem with fat transfer is that it can be unpredictable even the best surgeon's hands. That is because the amount of fat that lives or takes varies anywhere from 40% to 60%. What is predictable is that at 5 to 6 months after your fat transfer, the fat that is still present is your fat for... more

Michael A. Persky, MD

21 reviews

Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon

drpersky.com

Patience is key

Honestly, until you are about 3 months out from surgery, you won't know your final results. The fat will continue to resorb in the next 2 months. Only about half of the fat that is injected into the face survives, so we tend to need to over fill at the time of surgery in anticipation of this.