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*Treatment results may vary
This is only day 6 from my fat grafting for under...
This is only day 6 from my fat grafting for under eye hollows. I am taking all of the photos myself in the same lighting. Normal diffused lighting, no flash.
My skin color is light there, this is 100% from fat loss. I wanted fat transfer for 2 main reasons:
- the final result is permanent (as much as any fat is). Ultimately less downtime and saves money and time in the long run.
- for injections with fill they can only go to the tear trough area. To me that still leaves a hollow look to the eyes themselves. In contrast, a skilled doctor (I chose a plastic surgeon for this), they can go higher with fat grafting.
BTW, I also have a dent in my cheek, the lower right part of the photo, so the doctor did fat grafting to fill that also. Harder to see in the before pic in this lighting.
I am definitely swollen today on day 6, but because we did my cheek also, I'm sure my downtime is longer.
The doctors says it will be 3 weeks till I look truly normal, ie the swelling is down such that I look like nothing was done. I've also read that it can take 3 months until you see the final result in terms of how much of the fat survives.
You can still see the injection site, and some bruising, but my skin no longer looks red. The bruising can be covered with makeup.
My hope is that soon I look both refreshed and like myself again.
If things go well, I will post my doctor's name. FYI, he has been amazing so far, in terms of focused attention, listening to what I want and post-procedure support.
My skin color is light there, this is 100% from fat loss. I wanted fat transfer for 2 main reasons:
- the final result is permanent (as much as any fat is). Ultimately less downtime and saves money and time in the long run.
- for injections with fill they can only go to the tear trough area. To me that still leaves a hollow look to the eyes themselves. In contrast, a skilled doctor (I chose a plastic surgeon for this), they can go higher with fat grafting.
BTW, I also have a dent in my cheek, the lower right part of the photo, so the doctor did fat grafting to fill that also. Harder to see in the before pic in this lighting.
I am definitely swollen today on day 6, but because we did my cheek also, I'm sure my downtime is longer.
The doctors says it will be 3 weeks till I look truly normal, ie the swelling is down such that I look like nothing was done. I've also read that it can take 3 months until you see the final result in terms of how much of the fat survives.
You can still see the injection site, and some bruising, but my skin no longer looks red. The bruising can be covered with makeup.
My hope is that soon I look both refreshed and like myself again.
If things go well, I will post my doctor's name. FYI, he has been amazing so far, in terms of focused attention, listening to what I want and post-procedure support.
Day 9 update - feeling great about this!
My doctor says to not count surgery day as day 1, so using his method.
First, I realized my photos were rotated, so fixed them so eyelashes were on top. Added today's pic.
Today is the first day I could go in public and look normal to folks that didn't know me. ie I know I'm still bigger than I will be, but it looks 'normal'.
In fact, it looks so good under my eyes that I wish it would stay that way. The extra fat has the added benefit of making the loose skin under my eye tighter.
However, after reading about unpredictability of fat transfers being uneven, and that unevenness being especially visible under the eyes, and some folks ending up with bags, I'm happy my doctor was conservative with less fat transfer volume and small injections. I.e. eyes are so important to your look, that I'm okay if I need 2 rounds as he predicted.
As for my cheek, right now it's flat vs dented. However, said he can only get so much in the area, and we need this to have a healthy stable layer to 'round' it like a normal cheek. (I tried fillers for the dent and they barely had impact, so I'm happy with flat!)
I know that the lack of bruising and my accelerating the swelling reduction is a huge factor here.
My recommendations:
Pre Surgery
Be meticulous to not do the blood thinners for 2 weeks before, as they recommend (no Vit E, Omega 3, ibuprofen, aspirin, alcohol).
Post surgery
And yes, at least 1 week after (some doctors say 2 weeks). I took ibuprofen a day earlier (6 days) to help with swelling reduction and while yes it helped a lot, I also woke up the next morning with bruising on my neck, where the blood had suddenly drained down. So no more for me.
take curcumin/turmeric for swelling reduction, (500 mg, 3x/day)
take bromelain for swelling and bruising reduction
take sublinqual arnica pellets for bruising reduction
I also take MSM and Vitamin C for swelling
Sleep 'sitting up' or head elevated as long as possible. I'm still sleeping that way
BTW, although my bruising was minimal, I did have HUGE swelling. So much that my skin got all peely from being so stretched out. I didn't noticed improvement from the cool water (can't do super cold or it will freeze the fat)
Right now I'm HAPPY, but I need to see how it looks after the full 3 weeks, to see how much is fat vs residual swelling.
First, I realized my photos were rotated, so fixed them so eyelashes were on top. Added today's pic.
Today is the first day I could go in public and look normal to folks that didn't know me. ie I know I'm still bigger than I will be, but it looks 'normal'.
In fact, it looks so good under my eyes that I wish it would stay that way. The extra fat has the added benefit of making the loose skin under my eye tighter.
However, after reading about unpredictability of fat transfers being uneven, and that unevenness being especially visible under the eyes, and some folks ending up with bags, I'm happy my doctor was conservative with less fat transfer volume and small injections. I.e. eyes are so important to your look, that I'm okay if I need 2 rounds as he predicted.
As for my cheek, right now it's flat vs dented. However, said he can only get so much in the area, and we need this to have a healthy stable layer to 'round' it like a normal cheek. (I tried fillers for the dent and they barely had impact, so I'm happy with flat!)
I know that the lack of bruising and my accelerating the swelling reduction is a huge factor here.
My recommendations:
Pre Surgery
Be meticulous to not do the blood thinners for 2 weeks before, as they recommend (no Vit E, Omega 3, ibuprofen, aspirin, alcohol).
Post surgery
And yes, at least 1 week after (some doctors say 2 weeks). I took ibuprofen a day earlier (6 days) to help with swelling reduction and while yes it helped a lot, I also woke up the next morning with bruising on my neck, where the blood had suddenly drained down. So no more for me.
take curcumin/turmeric for swelling reduction, (500 mg, 3x/day)
take bromelain for swelling and bruising reduction
take sublinqual arnica pellets for bruising reduction
I also take MSM and Vitamin C for swelling
Sleep 'sitting up' or head elevated as long as possible. I'm still sleeping that way
BTW, although my bruising was minimal, I did have HUGE swelling. So much that my skin got all peely from being so stretched out. I didn't noticed improvement from the cool water (can't do super cold or it will freeze the fat)
Right now I'm HAPPY, but I need to see how it looks after the full 3 weeks, to see how much is fat vs residual swelling.
Day 9 - reposting the photo
I messed up the first posting.
BTW, I forgot to add: Please be sure that the fat extraction is done from an area where you don't easily lose weight, as it 'remembers' it's origin. So it will gain/loose weight, it will behave where it is originally from.
Finally, I did bruise where I had the fat extracted. Also used topical arnica cream there. Still bruised though.
BTW, I forgot to add: Please be sure that the fat extraction is done from an area where you don't easily lose weight, as it 'remembers' it's origin. So it will gain/loose weight, it will behave where it is originally from.
Finally, I did bruise where I had the fat extracted. Also used topical arnica cream there. Still bruised though.
Provider Review
Dr. Laurence Berkowitz
Dr. Berkowitz made the time to answer all my questions, both before and after. His follow-up was good too. Most importantly though, he is meticulous about his treatment.