Where does the fat that does not survive after a fat grafting procedure go?

Question

If fat is grafted from my abdomen to my buttocks and only 60% survives, does the other 40% go back to my abdomen? Does it distribute to several places on my body? Does it just disappear? Does it go somewhere that could be harmful to me?

Houtan Chaboki, MD · Answer

Fat grafting is plastic surgery that transfers fat from one area of the body (abdomen, hips, legs) to another (face, breast, buttocks). Unfortunately, not all the fat survives after being re-injected. The fat that does not live ends up being broken down by the body.

	Dr. Chaboki

Kurtis Martin, MD · Answer

During a fat grafting procedure some cells will simply die and not be viable. The body will then break down the cells and fat into metabolite products. The non viable cells can also turn into scar tissue will act as a volume enhancer as well.

Barry L. Eppley, MD, DMD · Answer

Fat that does not survive the injection process releases its free fatty acid content which is picked up and transported the liver where it is broken down and excreted. Some residual non-viable fat may also serve as a stimulus for scar formation. In short, it does not return from whence it came.

Hassan Galadari, MD · Answer

Fat, also known as adipose tissue, is stored in fat cells, adipocytes. These cells are viable, limited in number and are sensitive to physical stressors, such as heat. When fat is transferred from one place to the other, some of the cells do not make it or go into "shock". When those cells die, the body degrades them into inert materials or disposed of.

Where does the fat that does not survive after a fat grafting procedure go?

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