Natural Facial Fat Transfer

Consultations offered at our two convenient locations in San Diego and Carlsbad

As men and women age, the volume of their facial fat tends to shrink. This loss of fat can worsen the effects of aging, diminishing your youthful appearance. The facial fat transfer may allow you to lessen the visual effects of aging. It works by taking fat from elsewhere on your body and placing it into your face, to fill-out and soften your features. Dr. Seare performs facial fat transfer as an essential component of our fat transfer services as a facial rejuvenation program. One of the main reasons for the success and effectiveness of this procedure is because the results are very long lasting.

Dr. Seare has perfected his facial fat transfer procedure over years of practice with hundreds of patients at Clinique Sculpture. To get back to a younger-looking you, request a consultation today!

What is Facial Fat Transfer?

Dr. Seare started using autologous fat transfer or fat grafting in 1988 and presented his first paper to the Lipoplasty Society in 1990. We can use your own fat which is rich in stem cells to “transfer them into your face” for a procedure we call Facial Freshening; we use your own body’s natural fat to add volume and achieve very long lasting improvements, safely, without implants.

With this background knowledge and experience, Dr. Seare has determined what he believes is the best method to harvest, process, and transplant fat, to get reproducible and maximum benefit from the transferred fat.

Facial fat transfer is a procedure that can replenish lost volume to areas of the face that have suffered increased fat and collagen loss due to aging. The procedure takes fat cells from elsewhere on the body and places them subdermally into areas of the face which have suffered the strongest aging effects, such as into hollowed cheeks and around the eyes. This sunken look can cause you to look years older than you truly are.

In addition to making you look more youthful, this procedure also takes fat out of places you don’t want it, like your torso or legs.

How does this happen, you ask? Liposuction is used to remove small amounts of fat from another area of your body. This is proven to be the only safe way to get rid of excess fat after diet and exercise have not achieved the results you want. Common areas for fat to collect include the lower back, abdomen, hips, and thighs. The fat is then grafted into the face using Dr. Seare’s tried-and-true methods. His practiced hand will fill in the areas which have shrunken in volume, leaving behind a look that will take you years back.


Before & After Photos


Benefits

A number of positive things will come from your facial fat transfer procedure. You will look years younger with the softening of wrinkles and permanent lines around your eyes and mouth. Additionally, your eyes will be rid of the sunken-tired look, and your cheeks and brow area will be suppler than they have been in years.

If desired, you can also augment your procedure with extra volume added to sculpt your lips and jawline.

This facial fat grafting procedure is two wins in one. First, you experience the removal of unwanted fat from problem areas on your body, such as low back, hips, thighs, and abdomen. Second, you get the filling effect of that fat back where you need it most, to give your appearance a fresh youthfulness. The results speak for themselves: a thinner, younger-looking, more confident you.


Fat Transfer vs. Injectable Fillers

Fat transfer is the only solution for men and women who want to add volume to areas of their face without the use of synthetic products.

Facial fat grafting uses the patient’s own cells; it’s a completely natural way to lessen the appearance of aging. Synthetic dermal fillers may work initially, but the body may reject them over time. With fat grafted from elsewhere on the body, no foreign-body immune response is activated to reject the graft because it’s the body’s cells. Therefore, the results last much longer, with fewer complications.


Ideal Candidates

If you have a healthy diet and exercise routine, are a non-smoker, and are still discontent with how you look due to aging and the resulting loss of volume in your face, then this procedure could be an amazing tool for you to freshen your appearance. Dr. Seare will discuss reasonable outcomes you may expect during your first consultation, as well as the best procedure option to fit your individual case.

If you prefer to avoid surgical intervention, dermal fillers may still be able to add volume and subtract years from your appearance.


Consultation

Fat Transfer consultation In the consultation with Dr. Seare, you are encouraged to talk about things you’d like to change about your aesthetics, what you can expect from a facial fat transfer, and the most desired results you have for yourself and your appearance. To determine if you are a good candidate, the doctor will perform a physical examination, as well as go over your medical history, pre-existing conditions, and any other health concerns you have. If a facial fat transfer is going to be the right procedure, the doctor will then describe the entire procedure in-detail, going over all possible risks and the outcome you can expect.

Clinique Sculpture does ask that all patients have pertinent medical information at the ready before the consultation. This will make your consultation as smooth and informative as possible. Upon finishing, the keen staff will provide you with all the instructions you need to prepare for your facial fat transfer.


Preparation

Before any facial fat transfer procedure is undergone, patients should follow a few simple rules to speed up their recovery and improve the lasting effects of their procedure.

If you smoke, you should permanently quit at least three weeks prior to your procedure. Smoking hinders the body’s inflammatory healing response and slows down your overall recovery. You should also adopt a healthy nutrition plan and exercise regime to achieve the best, most lasting results. After the procedure, patients will not be able to drive themselves home, so a ride will need to be coordinated ahead of time. Further instructions will be given on a case-to-case basis, individualized to your needs. If you have questions leading up to the procedure, the staff at Clinique Sculpture is more than happy to answer any questions you have; please feel free to contact them.


The Facial Fat Transfer Process

The facial fat transfer process breaks down into six simple steps:

  1. Administer the local anesthesia to ensure utmost comfort during the procedure.
  2. The areas are marked where the doctor will harvest fat cells and redistribute them later.
  3. The certified anesthesiologist applies local anesthetic to ensure you feel no discomfort throughout the process.
  4. The doctor uses liposuction to remove fat from the areas discussed during your consultation.
  5. The removed fat is then put through a centrifuge machine to purify it and prepare it for re-introduction to your face.
  6. A unique syringe is used to precisely distribute the purified fat back to the areas discussed in your consultation: about the eyes, or in the cheeks, temples, or lips.

The Procedure

facelift-san-diego In order to collect the fat for transfer, the fat must be loosened from the surrounding tissues, including blood and lymph vessels, nerves, and fibrous connective tissue. This needs to be done so that the fat can be removed without disrupting the fat cell itself. Fat cell lysis can produce free fat oil, which can lead to scarring, inflammation, and death of the very fragile fat cells and helper adipocyte, which work together to produce the fat that lives and remains.

This adipogenesis and fat survival occurs when the composite fat pieces are placed near blood supply sources such as other fat, breast tissue, beneath skin, or near muscle and blood supply. This positioning can enable the transplant packet to be restored. If the collected fat transfer is too large, you can get the outside of the graft surviving, but the inside dies and melts away and also produces scar tissue that can be a problem, especially in the breast. If it is too small, we don’t get enough fat to take, and the results can be disappointing.

Reducing the pressure takes significantly more time for the liposuction part of the procedure, especially in fibrous tissues, but is needed to get the best cells possible.

Next, we need to suction the fat into the container used for fat collection. This is done under reduced pressure through a specialized cannula attached to a suctioning device to ensure that the negative pressure doesn’t damage the fat and preadipocyte cells. We usually reduce the aspiration pressure by 40% in order to preserve as many cells as possible.

All of the fat intended for fat transfer is suctioned into a graduated cylinder until full, and allowed to settle. The settling allows non-tissue and cell components and especially the fat to float to the top, and the liquid and red cell fraction goes to the bottom, where it can be decanted into the disposal canisters, leaving pure fat and the stem cells that are so important to the autologous fat transfer process. If there is still some fluid in the fat, it is cleansed with a solution. This leaves a very yellow, relatively pure fat with stem cells that have migrated somewhat to the bottom. This is all mixed up and put into various syringes depending on the area to be enhanced. For the face, we use 1cc syringes to inject the fat into the area of the face that needs to have added volume.

Once the doctor is happy with the outcome and the procedure is over, a compression garment will be placed around the region that was liposuctioned; this aids the inevitable bruising that will occur, as well as the inflammatory recovery process.

The staff will go over your steps for recovery on your way out, so your results look the best and last the longest.


Recovery

You will be prescribed medication to help reduce your pain.

Discomfort during the first 5-10 days of recovery after your facial fat transfer is completely normal to experience. It is also normal to have bruising or swelling in the areas affected by the procedure, especially the areas where fat cells were harvested during liposuction. These side effects will vanish within 2-3 weeks after the procedure. At this point, the contoured shape of your face will emerge in full glory. After another 1-2 weeks, you may return to things like strenuous exercise.

The night of the procedure, Dr. Seare recommends that you walk around to help your circulation and minimize the risk of a blood clot. Proper blood flow during the recovery period will help you avoid any complications and make sure you get the best results possible. If you experience anything alarming during this recovery period, or if you have anything else on your mind regarding your procedure, don’t hesitate to call the Clinique Sculpture office for support.


Provided Results

provided results Hundreds of patients can attest to the success of their facial fat transfer procedure with Dr. Seare. He uses the most current technology and a wealth of experience to deliver soft, natural-looking results that take years off the clock. Your skin will be suppler than it has been in years, and the effects of lines and wrinkles will be dramatically reduced. The results will return you to the confidence and vitality of your physical prime. While the effect you can achieve may be dramatic, it should be stressed that the facial fat transfer is only appropriate for the relocation of small amounts of fat to the face. It should not be considered as a replacement for proper diet and exercise in the pursuit of weight loss.

As with any other procedure, Dr. Seare and the team at Clinique Sculpture will provide only the highest level of medical care for your facial fat transfer. You should feel confident knowing you will be in the hands of a certified, deeply caring, and immensely practiced surgeon. The results of all his previous patients can attest to the care you’ll receive. If the information in this article has you thinking about a facial fat transfer for yourself, don’t hesitate to call and book a consultation. All your questions can be answered, and all your goals can be reached! Choose the new you!

*RESULTS MAY VARY

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