Will fat transfer in lips go away in 4 years?

Question

I had fat transfer done 4 years ago 3 times in the lips. its all stil there but i think the bottom lip is a little too big. Will it go away in time ?

Sam Rizk, MD · Answer

Hi Maria, thank you for sharing your concerns. A fat transfer is permanent and may slightly decrease in proportion in the weeks to follow your augmentation procedure. However, since you've had the transfer done so long ago, your lips are at their permanent shape. There are additional revisionary lip augmentation procedures you could undergo for desirable results. For fat transfer in lips with movement, there is only a 50 percent of original volume transferred at best. If you would like to improve shape and volume and achieve a more balanced appearance, I recommend visiting a board-certified facial plastic surgeon for a consultation. Best of luck!

Robert M. Tornambe, MD · Answer

Maria.  Photographs would help to answer your question more precisely. In general, if your last fat transfer was performed over six months ago, then it is doubtful that further reduction of size will occur. However there are options to correct the fullness, and I recommend that you seek the advice of a board-certified plastic surgeon in your area.  Good luck.

Francis R. Palmer, III, MD (retired) · Answer

Hi, this then highlights the primary issue with using fat to shape the lips, cheeks, chin or jaw line...it's not reliable in the volume delivered (which dictates the shape created) nor in its longevity.  Despite all the "hype" surrounding fat, micro-fat, nano-fat, PRP use and a handful of other marketing phrases...fat remains one of the least reliable methods of augmenting and shaping facial features.  Far less reliable than using an "off the shelf" dermal filler or silastic implant. I have performed many facial shaping procedures using dermal fillers, facial implants (cheek, chin), liposuction and/or facelifts for over 30 years.  In my experience and despite its recent increase in popularity, fat transfer (fat injection) offers "far" less of a reliable and predictable volume for facial shaping than an off the shelf dermal filler or silastic facial implant.  For that reason, I do not use fat to shape the cheeks, chin, lips or jaw line.  Tissue physiology is quite simple.  Tissue requires a blood supply in and out as well as lymphatic connections to remain viable and alive.  Once fat is removed from the body all of these things have been disrupted.  Just because the removed fat is mixed with PRP or something else doesn't make the blood and lymphatics magically re-appear.  The fat at that point is not living tissue which means that it's prone to being dissolved by the body (most likely in an uneven and unpredictable manner).  Injecting fat back into the face does not create the required elements to make the fat living tissue once again.  So the argument that fat is alive and viable in the face once it's been removed and re-injected makes no sense to me as a physician and surgeon.
 The other issue that I have with fat transfer is the lack of precision.  Fat is thick by nature which means it's not the same consistency as an off the shelf dermal filler.  Fat injections use an increased volume injected in an attempt to compensate for the volume loss that "will" happen.  This means a lack of specific shape and volume that simply can not begin to compare with the specificity of using a silastic facial implant of a "known" shape and volume.  In that regard fat offers too much of an unknown to make it a reliable and predictable method for facial shaping.  There's a significant difference between a 3mm and 5mm thick cheek implant.  You can imagine the magnitude of difference there is between retaining 60% of 25cc's of fat versus 35%.  In my humble opinion, I just don’t see how fat could possibly be used to precisely shape facial features?
Hope this helps.

Will fat transfer in lips go away in 4 years?

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Will fat transfer in lips go away in 4 years?

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