Fat Transfer to Face

Hi Lovely, I did have a minor bruise under one of my eyes that lasted about a week. I didn't mind the bruise, although I did swell up quite significantly by day 4 and 5. The major swelling resolved in 10-14 days.

Hi CindyChan. I paid approximately 2000 Canadian for the first transfer. And I'll be paying another 2000 for the second transfer. My understanding is that any fat that survives after 6 months is basically permanent, as it means it has found its own blood supply in the recipient area. Of course with aging and normal tissue loss it won't necessarily last into old age.

I've heard some Korean clinic include the second transfer (top up) with the price of the first, but you have to come back to get it done in 3-6 months.

Yes this is true.

Hi Bellbluey. Thank you so much for your kind words! It's weird...you would think that adding fat would make your face look bigger but I really think it made my proportions better and in turn made my face actually look smaller. Based on my first experience with Regen I think you've made an excellent choice. I will definitely update on here after my second transfer. I didn't ask for specific photos of specific surgeon results. The English translator Jina booked me in with the fat transfer specialist so I just put my trust in them. You can visit QiuQiu's blog where she documents her first experience with Regen, with Dr. Lee Seok Jun for her fat transfer and revision nose job, I believe. I didn't have any lumpy dumpy lipo areas or lumps in my face. I think the surgeon was quite conservative (which I appreciate); plus, I know that multiple fat transfers are sometimes required to reach the desired result, which is why I am opting to go for a second transfer. Best of luck on your journey! Xx

Did you ask the doctor to be conservative for your fat graft? The reason I ask is the immediate after pic for most Korean fat grafts looks like a balloon due to overfilling and swelling, since they know most of the fat will not survive, they overfill. I think that's good and bad, the good is you may not have to come back for another treatment, the bad is it stretches your skin more. However your immediate after looks close to the end result you were after? I think that was a sign not enough fat was added since your face looked close to your desired target so soon after the surgery? Did the doctor mention his view of overfilling for you? I think your true result will show up after 3 months. Please continue to update us on how much of the fat is surviving after each month that goes by. Thanks!

Hi Ezthetic. It has been about 14 months since the procedure and the result was good but as you said, a conservative change. I didn't show the surgeon any "wish pics" or give any direction other than to make me look natural and fill out the obvious deficiencies. He went the conservative route which I definitely appreciate. This time around, I will show him a few photos of what I want the end result to look like, and I'll show him some of my photos where I'm still healing and retaining more fat. I would like a more prominent forehead and I will make sure to communicate that to the surgeon.

Wow I didn't realize it's been that long as I misread it as you getting it done in October 2017! How many months after the fat graft would you say you saw your final results? Any chance you can post your present day pics side by side with your before pics? If after 14 months 50-60% has survived, I think that's very impressive and worth the price you paid.

BTW it's interesting I just read a review from another site that said Dr. Lee at Regen overfilled her cheeks so I guess he's not always conservative? I would definitely bring pictures of the look you are after, docs can't read our minds and we can't assume they have the same aesthetic as what we have in mind.

I would say final results settled after 6-8 weeks. I will b posting "before" photos for my 2nd transfer soon. But I did get some additional filler around 10 months ago that still hasn't fully dissipated so they won't show my true baseline. I totally agree with you that surgeons can't read our minds and might not have the same aesthetic eye as us. Especially because I think that the Korean aesthetic is so different from the North American aesthetic (I live in Canada). Now that I think about it, I asked him to be conservative on my cheeks because I had done a lot of research beforehand and noticed that the cheeks are filled out a lot, and I didn't really want that round face look (I already have a round enough face, thank you very much!). At the time of consultation, he also suggested putting some fat in the lower cheek where there is a light shadow and I emphatically said "NO" to that as I had removed my buccal fat to slim that area. Thanks for reminding me! I will definitely have to Pipe up this time around too, to make sure he doesn't touch that area or overfill my cheeks!

You look great now but its good that not all the fat sirvived sonce you dont like the overfilled look. I on the other hand LOVE the over filled look. When I see how swollen some people look, they look ALOT younger because they have such a chubby baby face. I am def going for that. I am just wondering if it looks natural without all the editing they do in some pictures. I have seen some non edited photos and I still LOVE the baby faced look they get initially when still swollen.
If you want more fat to survive this time, did you hear of the PRP method? Please please look into it. I did so much research on it and it sounds great. What they do is inject you own blood into your face ( I know sounds weird and crazy but please look it up its actually very good for your skin) and this helps the fat survive better from the blood injections/supply. Just becarefuk this time because if you feel like he overfilled and he does it again, you might have alot more fat survive than you want. Good luck and do you have any pics of wheb you were still swollen?

Good choice to explain to doc to be conservative on your cheeks and lower cheeks beforehand. For Korean beauty standards, they don't seem to like the model look where there is a little hollow in the lower cheeks, instead the look they are after seems to be for youthful full cheeks. So if your goal differs, yeah definitely make it clear to the doc beforehand. When I get a fat graft, I'll be sure to have the doc draw out on a face on paper where exactly I'll be injected and how much. I don't want any surprises nor do I want the doc telling me later he felt like filling a certain area we didn't agree on before hand.

May I ask what specific areas are you going to get your 2nd fat graft on? Since you mentioned filler, is there certain areas of your face you'll only do filler and not fat graft? If so, which areas and why? Thanks!

Hi Bellbluey, I did kind of like how I looked at one day post with a lot of swelling but I know it doesn't look natural, which is what I ultimately want. All of the photos I posted are unedited :).

Yes, I have also researched the PRP method and I will be adding that on this time around, and hopefully I'll have better retention. I'll definitely make it clear that I want him to be conservative in my cheeks. But I have a very deficient forehead and temples area which I'll ask him to fill more.

I have photos of myself more swollen than the ones I posted but I look busted haha. Not cute! My eyes barely would open.

Yes, I agree that establishing clear communication with your ps is important prior to the procedure. There's no such thing as being "too communicative" hah.

I'll be getting the same areas filled for my 2nd transfer. Forehead, temples, cheek, nasolabial lines. Right now I have some filler in forehead, temples, under eye, chin, and nose. I think because of the soft nature of fat, it wouldn't be effective to place it in the nose or chin, as I put filler there for fine structural definition. Hope this helps!

Did you notice the fat survival rate differed for each part of your face? I've heard survival is better for the forehead area since there's no little movement, but for nasolabial area it's much lower because of all the movement so it's harder for new vascular supply to the injected fat to form. Would you agree? If you could, I'd like to hear how much you estimated survived for each part you got fat graft. Would you say none survived for any areas?

That reminds me, given facial movement plays into fat surviving, you should ask about getting botox treatment before your fat graft. I know some clinics combine them but if they don't, ask. Good luck on your next trip!

Hmm. It's hard to say. I definitely don't think the fat survived in my nasolabial lines. I would say forehead, temples and cheeks were about the same. I would guess that everyone is different. I definitely have thought of that too, and just recently had my forehead maintenance Botox so I'm all set! Thanks! I'll keep you updated.

You mentioned the areas you got filler, I know fat graft for nose doesn't work but how about chin and under eyes? Will you fat graft to those areas?

If I do fat graft in Korea how many days you think I should book? Also, how long would it take for you to look relatively "normal" where you don't look swelled up and it's obvious you got work done?

I think some people do get fat transferred to chin, although I'm not sure how good it would look. I just feel like the chin needs a more structured substance to augment it but what do I know haha. I did ask the surgeon before my transfer if I needed any in my chin but he said it already looks good. I'll ask again this time too. Under eyes for sure I will need. Based on my first experience, it takes about 10 days to look presentable although the swelling lasts for about 2.5-3 weeks total. But of course everyone is different. I would recommend staying in Seoul for 7 days so that your incision sites have enough time to heal. Your sutures come out on the 7th day. Especially if you harvest from under bum area, it might be painful to sit for long periods of time. I barely sat down at all for a week because I was paranoid that I would tear my incisions.

love the results!! I’m thinking about going to SK for full face fat transplant also. Can I ask, where did you stay during your trip?

Thank you!

Hi Llisa407. Yes I am!

So it lasted the first time right? What area are they getting fat from? And is price better in Seoul?

Yes, some of it lasted. But for fat transfers, sometimes you will need more than one session to achieve the desired outcome. I'm hoping after the 2nd transfer I will not need more. I will hopefully harvest from flanks and inner thigh. I'm doing transfer to the breasts at the same time so I'll need lots of fat. The reason I chose Seoul is because I think the surgeon is very skilled and the price is more competitive as well.

Hi Ezthetic, you are so kind to check up on me. I just finished surgery less than 12 hours ago (got rescheduled for 2 days later because of flight delays). Because I had to reschedule, Dr. Lee was not available. Dr. Kwon did both the transfer to breast and face too. I’m swollen now more than last time (maybe because of PRP?) but feeling ok. Will update soon!