The most common places as an office procedure is transfer to the face, such as the cheeks and lips to restore volume and into the, nasolabial folds and marionette lines to fill the depressions. Another popular place to transfer fat is into the back of the hands to soften and rejuvenate them.

Under local anesthesia fat can be manually removed from the hip, inner thigh, or abdomen depending on the patients examination and preferences.

Syringe injectables can sometimes look or feel lumpy, whereas fat when incorporated feels smooth, soft, and natural.  There is a reported incidence of  2% allergic reactions to injectables which can sometimes require additional treatment. You cannot have an allergic reaction to your own fat.  Finally, whereas syringe injectibles are expensive and gone in six to nine months, much of your own fat will survive permanently.

Patients can work at home and do routine activity the next day. Some patients take a day or two before returning to an office setting as there is some slight swelling and an occasional black and blue easily covered with makeup.  Strenuous activity and exercise should be avoided for about a week. The exception to this is transfer to the lips which can remain swollen for up to a week.

Many patients augment their fat transfer results to treat wrinkles with BOTOX for the glabellar frown lines, forehead lines and crow’s feet.  Another popular addition is the secretRF radiofrequency micro-needling machine to rejuvenate and tighten the skin of the face, neck and back of hands. This combination of treatments will improve many concerns without major surgery and general anesthesia.  Fat restores volume, BOTOX softens wrinkles, and the secretRF rejuvenates and tightens skin.