person’s own fat may be used to improve the appearance of the body by moving it from an area where it is not required (usually the flanks or abdomen) to an area that has lost tissue volume due to aging, trauma, surgery, birth defects, or other causes. Typically, the transferred fat results in an increase in volume of the body site being treated.
This procedure is performed using a local anaesthetic. This is injected along with adrenaline into the areas from where the fat is being removed to minimise bruising and discomfort. The fat is then removed from the body by a narrow surgical instrument (cannula) through a small incision. The preparation of fat involves filtering (using special filters) and washing using normal saline. The fat is then placed into the required area using a smaller cannula. Since some of the transferred fat does not maintain its volume over time, your doctor may inject more than is needed at the time to achieve the desired result. Over a few weeks, the amount of transferred fat will decrease. Occasionally, more fat may need to be transferred to maintain the results.
Areas suitable for fat grafting include:
The benefits of fat grafting include:
At Bedford Skin Clinic, we use the most advanced methods of fat grafting, hence there is minimal downtime and complications are rare. The treated area looks slightly swollen for a few days and there is potential for bruising. There is minimal discomfort after the procedure and we advise our clients to take oral paracetamol if required. Clients can usually get back to normal activity on the next day.