Almost 2 Weeks Post-Op Fat Injection to Forehead, What if I Only Want 50% of the Fat to Survive? (Photos)

The fat is there, now you have to wait for the swelling to subside, and evaluate the fat left.  I would be surprised if a lot more than 50% survived.  You are now looking at a lot of swelling.  Be patient, and assess your forehead in 6-8 months.

It is too soon to tell what result you will have.  Wait about three months.

Your question points out one of the difficulties of fat grafting....possible unpredictable result because of variable take. 

Fat grafting has greatly improved but the results can sometimes be unpredictable if a significant amount of the fat reabsorbs.  If all of it stays, then sometimes you have too much.

Time will tell.

It is too soon to evaluate the results of your fat injection.  We know we need to overcorrect because so much of the fat does not survive (probably less than half).  THere is always swelling around the injection sites.  Talk to your surgeon for specific advice but it is too soon to evaluate your results.  It is very unusual to have too much fat survive.

You are still very early in the healing process particularly with regard to inflammation. What you see now is not what will be present 1 month or 4 months from now. The contour irregularities and projections will not be as pronounced given time. How much fat will survive can't necessarily be predicted.

Be patient and give this at least 4 - 6 months.

It is far too early at two weeks to worry about your final result. Fat Injection or Fat Transfer purposefully over grafts or over corrects by 50-60% because in most cases using traditional fat harvesting techniques, as much as 60% of the fat cells die and dissolve. The decrease in size of the Fat Graft or transferred Fat occurs rapidly over the first 3 months but continues up to 6 months.

Newer Fat Harvesting techniques for Fat Transfer such as Adivive produce a higher percentage of viable fat cells after Fat Grafting and using these newer techniques less over correction is required for Fat Transfer or Fat grafting.

Careful massage can help smooth the lumps and bumps which are an expected normal phenomenon following Fat Transfer or Fat Grafting.

Gentle massage must be used. Too firm or vigorous massage can actually damge the grafted fat cells and cause the loss of more Fat Graft than you want to happen.

Avoid ice packs as hypothermia or cold can kill fat cells

The biggest problem with fat injection is that a large amount of it gets reabsorbed by the body if it does not get the blood supply to nourish it.  It is important for your  surgeon to overcorrect so as to have enough.  The first 3-4 weeks shows a rapid drop off in the amount of fat survival. By 3 months, the fat that remains is likely to last long term.  It is too early to know how much of your grafted fat will take. People are often anxios about their looks during this phase of recovery.  Be patient because there is no way to rush it.  It is unusual to have more fat take than you want.