Too Much Fat Injected During Transfer-looking Distorted and Freakish?

Thank you for submitting your question and photo. It would be nice to see a before and after photos to compare.  The swelling can be asymmetrical and can last for several months. Final results take 6 months. Discuss your concerns with your Plastic Surgeon. Best wishes.

Dear Blondie,


The combination of the 2 procedure definitely causes prolonged swelling

Also, the fat will resorb as it heals

I can feel how it is hard to wait, but please be more patient

Once the face stops changing (i.e. the swelling has stabilized), then you can assess what to do next


Best regards,

Nima Shemirani
 

    The fat grafting results at one month typically do reduce.  Usually by 3 months, the results are fairly stable.

Making judgments about volume after facelift with concurrent fat injections is impossible at one month. The situation should improve substantially over the next few months as the swelling goes down and a portion of the fat graft that didn't survive is removed by the body.

Hi Blondie,

Sorry to hear about your dilemma.  Prior to fat transfer, patients need to be informed of how they may appear very swollen for a few weeks after the treamtent.

The problem with fat transfer is that it can be unpredictable even the best surgeon's hands.  That is because the amount of fat that lives or takes varies anywhere from 40% to 60%.  What is predictable is that at 5 to 6 months after your fat transfer, the fat that is still present is your fat for life, permanently.  Often fat transfer surgeons over correct due to the reabsorption after treatment, resulting in distortion.  Hopefully over the next few months your fat will settle.

Though I occasionally still use fat transfer, I find that Sculptra is much more predictable and is less likely to cause the distortion that you are describing.  I hope that your face settles well over the next few months.

Honestly, until you are about 3 months out from surgery, you won't know your final results. The fat will continue to resorb in the next 2 months.

Only about half of the fat that is injected into the face survives, so we tend to need to over fill at the time of surgery in anticipation of this.

As with any cosmetic surgical procedure, there can certainly be 'too much of a good thing'. Over-grafting of fatty tissue will distort facial features and produce unnatural proportions that look like surgery rather than appearing to turn back the clock. An important part of my preoperative evaluation is reviewing photographs with patients from their twenties and thirties (and from their forties for patients in their sixties and seventies). Such photographs are invaluable in confirming the manner in which a face has aged, and in planning a surgery that is designed to help a patient look more like their youthful self.

Having said that, you are in the VERY early stages of recovery and it is very possible that when all is said and done you may be delighted with your results.  At this stage, sometimes significant changes can happenen even in 24 hours. Stay in close touch with your surgeon. he or she may have some additional suggestions that could be of benefit. Their guidance and understanding may also help you to feel more at ease. I wish you the best

One month post-op is still early. Howevever,  too much fat transfer in one setting could results in fat necrosis and poor fat take. Too much of a good thing can lead to hard lumps and pumps.

Fat injection is a very refine and delicate procedure. The grafted fat survive by forming new blood supply to each individual fat cell. Therefore, the amount of fat being transfer in one setting is the key success.Over-grafting does not necessarily results in good result. It could lead to hard lumps and pumps and fat necrosis. Good luck.