OK to Get Fat Grafting 6 Months After Being Injected with Hyaluronic Acid?

It is perfectly okay to have fat grafting as a more permanent solution to filling of the face to replenish volume loss. I usually have my patients try fillers first to make sure they like the results and to get a feel for how much volume they will need. This is what you have already done. Now, after 6 months, much of the HA filler is already gone and you know that you were happy with the initial results. This makes you a perfect candidate for fat grafting. Fat grafting can be very long lasting or permanent but here are a few things you should know:

1. Fat grafting will cause significant bruising and swelling for about 2 weeks when done correctly.

2.  You will be over filled at first and look too swollen, but this will go away.

3.  You will likely need a touch up procedure after the first fat grafting session to achieve balance and add to areas from which some of the fat absorbed.

It should be fine.  Just find a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon to do your work and offer other alternatives. Thank you for your question and good luck with everything.

Occasionally I have had patients where they decided that they did not want the hyaluronic acid filler (Juvaderm or Restylane) anymore for some reason. Sometimes the filler can last a very long time, much longer than is generally thought. I have had patients with Juvaderm that lasted several years in the lower eyelids for example.

Fortunately if it is necessary to remove the hyaluronic acid this can be done very effectively, within hours often, by injecting hyaluronase. This has to be ordered specially by your doctor from a compounding pharmacy.

It works quite dramatically.