Does fat transfer take on the look and feel of the area it is being injected into?

Question

Does fat grafting take on the look and feel of the area it is being injected into? E.G. If placed on a muscle in the body will it feel like muscle? If placed under the eyes or cheeks will it take on the feel of a softer tissue? Confused because I think of fat as something squishy. Also can it be used to just thicken the skin if there is no specific hollow in the face? I find people in their youth have this "Plump" trait. But on other hand I've read people look better in their 30s with less fat.

Garrett Griffin, MD · Answer

Ozz: I would say that fat is good at blending into whatever area you put it, as long as it is injected properly.  Fat is fat...it won't turn into muscle or bone tissue to any significant degree. But if it is injected in the face deeply, it will provide volume and push the normal facial tissues outwards, so that area will retain its normal feel.  It can be used to provide a skin thickening type effect, but it needs to be used as "nanofat" ie. as very small globules and injected with a very small needle or cannula.  Whether you look better or worse in your 30s with more or less facial volume depends on many factors including your genetics, and facial shape, and overall bone structure.

David Gilpin, MD · Answer

Thank you for your question.  Facial fat grafting is a wonderful procedure in which your own fat tissue is used to volumize the rejuvenate the face.  You are correct in that fat has a 'soft' consistency but will and should have a natural feel once it is injected.  The fat graft can be injected onto muscle or other fat pads, and sometimes directly on top of bone.  Once it is injected, it will take on its own blood supply and survive, just like the natural fat cells in the body. There is also evidence that stem cells are also transferred and give a rejuvenating effect to face. Be sure to consult with a board certified facial plastic surgeon or plastic surgeon who specializes in facial rejuvenation.  Here you will be able to discuss your goals for your procedure. I hope that this helps!-David Gilpin

Zoran Potparic, MD · Answer

Transferred fat, regardless of the area where it is applied (muscle, subcutaneous fatty tissue underneath the skin, breasts, buttocks) is live fat tissue which maintains the feel and structure of fat. It is used for augmentation and volume loss in face because significant part of facial aging is fat loss! Younger face has proportionally grater volume of fat in certain area (cheeks, around eyelids) than aging face. Signs of aging and fat volume loss is in particular visible around lower eyelid and cheek junction. So, adding fat by means of fat grafting around eyes/cheeks (peri-orbital area) is a part of facial rejuvenation. We use both micro and nano fat grafts for that purpose.

Robert T. Buchanan, MD (retired) · Answer

Your confusion about the look and feel of fat and fat grafts is totally understandable. First, whether people look better or worse with more or less fat is dependent on many factors. One of the major ones is whether the overlying skin is supported properly so that normal youthful contours are apparent. Second, no matter where it is placed, fat will look and feel like fat, as long as it was placed properly and almost all of it lived. If an inexperienced surgeon places it in large globs that cannot obtain blood supply immediately, you may end up with hard areas of scar where the fat died but was not absorbed. Normal fat is not really "squishy," though it feels more so if it is quite thick in any one place because there is little stabilizing it. When injected in the face or breast, it feels firmer because those areas have many fibrous septa that confine the fat. It will also feel firmer there if the areas between the septa are filled, sort of like blowing up a ball that feels soft until it is filled, and then it feels firm and will bounce. If you are considering fat grafting, make sure you choose a plastic surgeon who has many years experience and has a 75-80% fat survival rate, as there are many physicians doing fat grafting the same way they do off the shelf fillers. This does not work. Fat grafting is use of living tissue and MUST be done properly.

Does fat transfer take on the look and feel of the area it is being injected into?

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