What is a Fat Transfer Surgery?
This procedure is one of the oldest plastic surgery techniques around and is still widely used today. Men and women often choose fat transfers as a way to balance their features.
Patients wanting to undergo fat transfers should have realistic expectations. Autologous fats can be transferred from the back, flank, hips, thighs and tummy area. This fat is then prepared and placed in other areas of the body. Fat transfers are ideal for women who would like a full bust or buttox without implants. The fat can also be placed in the face, making it an alternative to other treatments by filling fine lines and wrinkles.
Liposuction
In order to collect the fat from a harvesting site, the surgeon will use one of all four liposuction techniques. These techniques are to ensure the grafting of viable fat cells that will reproduce (cell division) and be accepted in the new placement.
- Traditional Liposuction – assisted liposuction (SAL)
- Ultrasound-assisted liposuction (UAL)
- Laser-assisted liposuction (LAL)
- Mechanically-assisted liposuction
The Ideal Candidate
Anyone of legal age is a good candidate for this procedure, however, patients who are pregnant, breastfeeding or have a neurological disease are not advised to undergo a fat transfer.
How Much Does a Fat Transfer Cost?
Before any surgery can be scheduled a consultation must take place, where the surgeon will assess the patients’ needs and suggest the best procedure to achieve the required results (procedures will vary in extent from person to person).
Consultation Fee: R1000 – No subsequent consults are charged, either before or after surgery.
Surgical cost are subject to:
- Duration of procedure (hospital & anesthesia fees also are affected by this).
- Duration of your hospitalisation recovery
- Additional procedures possibly suggested achieving required results
As per the above, It can become difficult to put a general price tag on the procedure.
Fat Transfer Before and After
Fat Transfer Recovery
Fat transfer recovery time usually ranges from one to three weeks, with facial fat transfers taking up to four weeks for the swelling to completely reduce. During the first few weeks of recovery, patients will experience a large amount of swelling, which is completely normal.
Complications | Risks | Side Effects | Scars
During the first week of recovery, most patients fear that the swelling will not go down, however, the swelling will subside significantly after the first week.
Normal Side Effects:
Even though fat transfer surgery is an invasive procedure, it may result in only a few non-concerning side effects. These include:
- Facial asymmetry
- Thin looking lips
- Difficulty smiling
- Swelling occurring longer than two days
- Over-pronounced eyebrows
- Fluctuating inflammation and swelling
- Cheeks that are hard to the touch
- Deep lines around the mouth
- Chin may feel strange or “lumpy”
- The face seems too “full”
Risks | Complications | Scars:
Like all medical procedures, the risk of complications increases when proper aftercare treatment is not followed. These complications include:
- Worsening abdominal pain, or severe pain at the fat harvesting site
- Progressive pain that cannot be addressed with your pain medications
- A fever of 100 degrees or more
- Strange discoloration, and or leaking
If you are suffering from any of these complications due to your surgery, we advise you to seek out medical attention immediately.
Some patients can experience harvest site swelling that can last up to several weeks, this swelling is completely normal and will reduce over time. Fat transfer procedures have minimal scarring as the fat is injected into the new location leaving very little site scarring.