Can I Use my Own Fat to Fill my Tear Troughs?

There will be a variety of opinions as to the best option for tear trough correction.  

My personal favorites are hyaluronic acid fillers (such as Restylane or Juvederm)  or fat transposition blepharoplasty.

With hyaluronic acid fillers, the main downside is that the result is not permanent.  In fat transposition,  fat from the orbit underneath the eyeball is draped over the bony rim of the orbit into the tear trough.  The improvement tends to be permanent.  Not all patients will have enough orbital fat prolapsing to allow fat transposition to be a great option.  Some surgeons have had great results with transfer of a patient's fat (harvested from another area) into this area  (fat transfer),  but  others have become much less enthusiastic for the technique in the lower lids after facing challenging complications which are difficult to correct.

If you do elect fat transfer for the tear troughs, be sure to choose a surgeon with a great deal of experience with using the technique for this particular purpose.

Good luck!
 

Mark Lucarelli, MD, FACS

Madison, WI

In my practice, lower eyelid grooves (tear troughs) are managed with Injectable Fillers. My personal preference is to use Silikon-1000, an off-label filler for permanent results. You should make sure your physician is skilled in the delicate art of filling lower eyelid skin as this area is not forgiving.

Lower eyelid wrinkles are a difficult problem, and a pinch-blepharoplasty is considered as a last resort in select patients.

I hope this is helpful for you.