Ice After Fat Transfer: Is It ok or Too Much?

Mild cooling of the area will help reduce inflammation. Please keep in mind you do not want to ice too much because a cold temperature causes the capillaries to constrict thus limiting the oxygenated blood to be properly delivered. The fat transfer needs new blood supply to be able to thrive in its new home. Each physician has their own methods so Please be sure to consult with your attending physician to be sure how much ice if any you will be able to do.

Ice packs are useful after fat transplantation. I have been recommending light ice packs after fat transplants for over 25 years. I believe it reduces bruising and swelling. There is no scientific evidence that it has any detrimental effects on the fat grafts.

Thank you for the question.In fact ice will only help you with the imflammation of the skin but the fat would be absorbed by your body regardless. The percentage varies from patient to patient.

The problem with using cool packs or icing is that the cold temperature causes the capilaries  to constrict. This means that oxygenated blood is not delivered to the area where it is most important.  The transferred fat needs new blood supply to be able to thrive in its new home. There is no scientific research about the effects of cooling after fat transfer, so my recommendations are just an educated guess.Hopefully you will have an excellent result!

After fat transfer cooling and gentle compression can help with swelling and to a very small amount, possibly fat survival.  While theoretically reduced temperature may decrease metabolic demand of the fat trying to re-establish blood supply, the pressure that putting on the cooling can have a greater likelihood or causing problems of too much pressure, and actually keep out existing or new blood vessels.  There is now scientific evidence that cooling with ice packs can increase fat survival, and done incorrectly it can even cause frostbite.  We use hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) where we can get oxygen into the plasma which is the watery part of the blood, and that can bring oxygen to areas where there is little blood supply such as in fat where fat grafting is placed in the face.  I believe that we are getting 10-20% better survival with this modality combined with tried and true methods, such as correct placement of very small packages of fat that has been properly prepared, and injected with small side port cannulas.  In using fat grafting since 1988, with these techniques,  I have seen up to 70% fat survival. In general I usually place fat twice in the face in order to get the look most of my patients desire