Facial Fat Grafting / Nano Fat Grafting
Permanently restore more youthful fullness, lift, and balance to your face by harnessing the rejuvenating properties of your body’s natural fat with facial fat grafting in St. Paul.
As we age, our faces gradually lose the youthful fullness and shape we had as children. This “deflation” is due to collagen and elastin depletion in our skin, facial fat loss, and bone loss throughout the years. Facial Fat Grafting, sometimes called Nano Fat Grafting or Lipoinjection, can provide an effective and long-lasting solution for patients who want to reclaim a fuller, firmer, and younger-looking face.
Facial Aging
When we are young, the dimensions of our faces resemble that of an inverted triangle. Our cheekbones are high and full, our undereye area is smooth, and our jawlines are firm and tight.
As we age, this triangle turns right side up with the majority of weight and volume along our lower face. Our temple area begins to thin, cheeks deflate, our under-eye area develops deep hollows, and the skin along our jawline begins to sag and look heavy. One of our most vital facial fat pads, the Buccal fat pad, which acts as a buttress or scaffolding of sorts for the midface, begins to diminish, and the rest of the midface begins to droop as a result.
Although facial fillers like Voluma® and Sculptra™ can temporarily replace lost volume and lift, Fat Grafting offers permanent results that are far more cost-effective over time. Some patients also develop “filler fatigue” and no longer experience the discomfort of filler injections every year.
What Is Facial Fat Grafting?
Facial Fat Grafting, also known as autologous fat transfer or transplantation, involves harvesting fat from one part of your body via liposuction and injecting it into areas of the face that are experiencing volume loss and age-related bone loss. Fat is usually taken from the abdomen, but can also be sourced from the thighs if a patient is too lean in their midsection.
The Facial Fat Grafting Procedure
Facial Fat Grafting can be performed as a stand-alone procedure or in tandem with other reconstructive or cosmetic facial procedures to optimize your overall results. When it is combined with procedures like a facelift, the patient is under general anesthesia while their fat is being both harvested and transferred. When performed as a stand-alone treatment, it can be done in the office under local anesthesia or in the operating room with sedation, but most patients choose to go to the operating room.
Your surgeon will use a syringe and a tiny cannula to withdraw fat from the harvest site. This fat is then purified to remove blood, oil, and damaged cells. It is then injected back into the face, much like dermal fillers are, to instantly restore lost volume.
Because 50-75% of fat that is transferred will die and be reabsorbed by your body over time, your surgeon will initially overfill your face to compensate for this loss and maintain more volume over time. This technique offers the best possible results.
Indications
- Hollow under-eye area
- Deflated temples, cheeks, and midface
- Tired, gaunt, aged appearance to the face
Benefits
- Permanent results
- Minimal downtime and discomfort
- More cost-effective than dermal fillers over time
- Can be performed with other facial surgeries to enhance results
- Low risk of reaction (uses the body’s own fat)
- Very natural-looking results
Recovery and Healing
If your Facial Fat Grafting is performed in tandem with another surgery, such as Facelift Surgery, Rhinoplasty, or Eyelid Surgery, your downtime and recovery will be dependent on those surgeries. Patients who pursue Facial Fat Grafting as a stand-alone procedure can resume normal activities the day after surgery.
Moderate swelling, bruising, and redness at the injection site are all common and temporary side effects after Facial Fat Grafting. In rare cases, there is a risk of granuloma formation which typically resolves with an injection of steroid. The severity and duration of these symptoms will correlate with where the fat was injected, and the volume of fat used.
Facial Fat Grafting can deliver results that look and feel incredibly natural. It is a wonderful compliment to most facial plastic surgeries, and offers much longer-lasting results than dermal fillers.
Facial Fat Grafting Cost
The cost of Nano Fat Grafting varies from patient to patient. The amount of fat being transferred affects the final price, as do the types of techniques utilized and the total time required.
Arrange Your Consultation
To find out more about Facial Fat Grafting in St. Paul and what it can do for you, contact us today! During a consultation at Midwest Facial Plastic Surgery, you will be able to ask any questions you may have.
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Before + After Results
View before and after photos of surgeries performed by facial plastic surgeons Dr. Christopher Tolan, Dr. Garrett Griffin, Dr. Zachary Farhood and Dr. Anna Bakeman in Minneapolis, MN.