Fat Transfer: Stories

Hi Lesha9137, The terms are confusing. My doctor was a dermatologist and a member of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery and the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. He was not a plastic surgeon and not a member of the American Academy of Plastic Surgery. Very few, if any, plastic surgeons are certified by the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery. No non-plastic surgeons are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgeons. To be classified as "plastic" or "cosmetic" requires a significantly different amount of training, with the former being greater than the latter. And the terms "Society" and "Academy" are equally misunderstood. If you have a procedure done to your face that is of a permanent nature, you want to go to a plastic surgeon. Botox and temporary fillers done by a reputable cosmetic surgeon are fine, but most of your fat transfer is going to be permanent, especially if it involves scar tissue in your cheeks or under your eyes. It is a much riskier procedure than was described to me, with long term, permanent complications very possible. What concern is your fat transfer being suggested to address?

Michhy, I am having that done by Dr. Groth on Jan 31. I saw him for the consult in late June, but he wanted me to wait about 4 months to see if there was any improvement. Then decided to wait till after the holidays. He does book up fast, so make appts early. Consults take 2 months to schedule and my surgery took 3 months to schedule. A very busy guy. He does plan to remove fat from under one eye and also over the other. I am nervous. Could you tell me where you saw the post about Dr. Groth. Was it someone who already had the work done...or just planning on it? Would love to know how it went for her.

Hi, so you had 3 more treatments on the area & the others didn't improve it more?
:(

Hi, thanks for replying and for offering to ask your derm. Your pics do show real improvement and I've been reading up on the exilis. I am surprised that it was so painless as I've heard other ones (like ultherapy) are pretty intense and need dental block. That has to be a good thing. Did you say you had scar tissue lumps, you could feel these with your fingers right? I read that exilis uses ultrasound before RF so I might imagine that the scar tissue has responded to the ultrasound energy. Anyway, I hope you're doing well and you must be pleased!! -Q

Hi filler queen, Do you have any updates since going back to your derm? Have you noticed further deflation or have you tried the Exilis again?

Q

Filler Queen thank you for posting! Great news! I am keeping my fingers crossed for you.

How close did your derm get to the eye area with the RF? Was she able to get really close?

Here's what I found about the elixis. I find it interesting that it's a monopolar RF device and that monopolar heats both the dermis and the subcutaneous layers (fat), rather than just the dermis itself. Maybe this is the key to successfully reducing fat with radio frequency. However elixis only mentions heating the dermis: "The rapid 2 million per second oscillations cause the molecules in your dermis to rapidly heat up."

Also, found this on the differences between monopolar & bipolar RF:

RF devices tend to market themselves as monopolar, bipolar or multipolar RF devices. Monopolar energy travels from the handpiece to a distant pole and requires a large ground electrode that is applied to the body. It penetrates up to 20mm, affecting both skin and subcutaneous fat. Bipolar energy travels from one pole on a handpiece to another, penetrating only 2mm to 4mm into the skin.
“Both work by causing bulk heating of the deep dermis,” says James Muze, vice president of development at Syneron Candela. “Bipolar uses symmetrical electrodes that can control the distribution of energy between the two and, more specifically, confine it to dermal structures when appropriate. Tripolar is a marketing term, not a scientific term. Devices with three or more poles use bipolar electrodes that switch between active pairs and inactive pairs.”

Sorry, I should've asked: was it the facial handpiece or body handpiece your derm used? I just read an answer here on real self that says the one on the body targets fat whereas the face one doesn't.

any chances its dr. brody in atl? he's my doc, i love him, and hoping he's not the same guys since i want to ask of his opinion of fg in general.

No, my original doctor is in Orange County, California. The doctor who did my correction work is in LA. Please read all the information on FT before you have any work done. It is a really, really tricky procedure. From your profile picture alone, I would say you are far too young to do this procedure. Stick with fillers for as long as you can. FT is no walk in the park and even if you really like your doctor, I believe there are only a handful of doctors in the world who can do great FTs. I've seen really bad work and really good work and I had no idea how big of a difference there could be. I learned the hard way. I've also met with a recognized top surgeon in San Fran. Not cheap, but when you go to the best, you get what you pay for. Anyone else - and this procedure is like a game of Roulette!