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.
April 8, 2020
Answer: The Look & Feel of Fat Grafts 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.
Helpful
April 8, 2020
Answer: The Look & Feel of Fat Grafts 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.
Helpful
