How Long Before Final Results from Fat Transfer in Tear Trough Can Be Seen?

More than any other procedure I have done, fat injections do not consistently provide the same results even in the same patient when performed mulitple times within a series of treatments. Fat injections are often done as multiple treatments. Some results are better in the first treatment while other patients have results better in subsequent treatments; it is hard to determine the percent of viable fat after one procedure. If the fat is injected over the muscle, it might be more noticable as bumps when the injections "take". some fat doesn't live in the new environment. It may take three to six months or even a year or more for the fat to stabilize. Injecting under the muscle may provide a smoother result, but the hosting environment may not allow the fat to live as well as the plane above the muscle. If there is overcorrection that does not decrease with time, the fat may be injected with a low concentration of corticosteroid, but there is a risk of cataract development and over thinning of the fat or a depression of the skin which might need filler to raise it up again.

It is important to have this area done by someone who has experience. Fat transfer to the tear trough can be tricky. Overcorrection is performed by most plastic surgeons in order to avoid a second correction of the area. This overcorrection together with local swelling can take up to 6 months to resolve while some of the dead fat is being absorbed.

Generally, at 3 weeks following the procedure, you should have an impression of the final result. However, it will take somewhere around 6 months to truly know the permanent effects of the surgery as it does with any facial surgery.