Facial Fat Transfer

For a facial fat transfer procedure at our practice in New York City or New Jersey, you’ll typically need two appointments.

The first appointment is your consultation with Dr. Kassir. During this time, you’ll discuss your aesthetic goals, review your medical history, and undergo an evaluation to determine the best areas for fat harvesting.

The second appointment is the procedure itself, where Dr. Kassir performs the fat harvest and transfer.

Post-surgery, you’ll have follow-up appointments to monitor your recovery and ensure optimal results. These will include assessments of the treated areas and any additional care needed to enhance your healing process.

Your facial fat transfer results will start to show immediately, but the true transformation becomes more visible within 3 to 6 months as your body settles and the transferred fat seamlessly integrates into its new home.

Many of our patients combine facial fat transfer with facial fat treatments such as facelifts, breast augmentation, or body contouring procedures.

For example, combining fat transfer to the face with a facelift or eyelid surgery can help restore volume in key areas while also tightening and lifting the skin for a more youthful appearance. Similarly, if you’re undergoing liposuction for body contouring, fat harvested from these areas can be used for fat transfer to the face, breasts, or buttocks.

Although the risks of facial fat transfer are rare, postoperative complications cannot be ruled out. As with any surgery, risks of fat transfer include infection, reaction to anesthesia, and poor healing. Repeated injections may be necessary to achieve the desired results if the target area is larger.

Facial fat transfer may be performed under local anesthesia, in an office-based facility, or at a hospital or surgical center. The procedure may take approximately an hour, depending on the number of areas treated.

Stem cells have gained a lot of attention from the media because of their purpose in the medical field. Stem cells have the potential to treat illnesses and enhance cosmetic surgery procedures like fat transfers. When reintegrated with harvested fat, stem cells have the ability to repair damaged tissue, promote damaged cells to repair themselves, and generate new cells. When used with a fat transfer, stem cells help:

Improve overall skin tightening and rejuvenation.
Aid healing by releasing anti-inflammatory agents
They help grow new blood vessels to nourish the fat

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and stem cell therapy are the latest innovations in many areas of medicine, including cosmetic surgery. PRP, commonly known as PRP, is used in fat transfer procedures. Platelet-rich plasma therapy uses the patient’s blood, which is centrifuged to separate these special components. When activated, these platelets release proteins that are beneficial for overall skin rejuvenation. They help increase collagen production, connective tissue formation, and skin tightening.

Fat transfer aims to provide patients with long-lasting results, which happens when the fat cells in the recipient area develop connections to a nearby blood supply. This means that fat can best survive at the interface of fat and blood supply. This process is called angiogenesis or neovascularization. Platelet-rich plasma therapy uses the patient’s own blood, which is centrifuged to separate out these special components, and when activated, these platelets release proteins that are beneficial for overall skin rejuvenation.

Adding PRP improves fat retention and survival in a fat transplant procedure. Since PRP is rich in proteins, it enhances healing.