Facial fat transfer, also called fat grafting, is a facial rejuvenation procedure that uses a patient’s own fat to restore volume, soften hollow areas, and improve facial contour. By carefully harvesting fat from one area of the body and placing it in areas such as the cheeks, temples, lips, under-eyes, or jawline, fat transfer can create long-lasting improvement with a natural look and feel.
At Fante Eye & Face Center, patients from Denver, Greenwood Village, and surrounding Colorado communities receive fat grafting care from doctors with advanced training in facial cosmetic and oculofacial plastic surgery. Dr. Robert Fante is double board-certified and has extensive experience in facial rejuvenation, while both Dr. Levitt and Dr. Huang are ASOPRS-trained surgeons and ASOPRS Candidate Members. This specialized background helps the team evaluate whether fat transfer, fillers, lifting procedures, or skin treatments are best suited to each patient’s anatomy and goals.
What is Fat Transfer (Fat Grafting)?
There has been a small revolution in our thinking about the aging face over the past twenty years. For decades, doctors had focused on the roles that gravity and sun damage play in making people look old, but had largely ignored the loss of youthful fullness that also occurs.
This was probably because the medicine couldn’t offer good solutions to that problem, even though it was obvious that young people have full, softly contoured faces and older people don’t.
Two big advances occurred in the 1990s:
- Hyaluronic acid fillers emerged as a practical short-term method to restore facial volume
- Dr. Sydney Coleman in New York City pioneered the surgical transfer of body fat to the face as a long-term method for restoring facial volume.
These techniques served as an epiphany for doctors interested in facial rejuvenation. Facial plastic surgeons around the world have gradually developed increasingly comprehensive strategies to help people look as young as they feel.
What Are the Benefits of a Fat Grafting Procedure?
The advantages of fat grafting include but are not limited to:
- Smoothing fine lines, scars, wrinkles
- Adding volume to areas like the temples, lips and cheeks
- Natural-looking, durable results
- Little to no scarring
- Improved Self Confidence
What Areas Can Be Treated During a Facial Fat Transfer?
During a facial fat transfer procedure, your surgeon can treat the following areas:
- Cheeks
- Under-eye regions for dark circles
- Tear Trough
- Upper eyelids
- Eyebrows
- Forehead
- Temples
- Lips
- Chin
- Marionette lines near the mouth
What Our Patients Have to Say
What Areas of the Body is Fat Transferred From for a Fat Grafting Procedure?
Obviously, in order to have this done, you also need to have fat to harvest elsewhere on your body. This is usually taken from the abdomen, upper thighs, or flanks.
However, fat grafting isn’t for everyone. If a patient has too much loose skin, eyelid surgery, forehead lift, or a facelift may be a better procedure. During your consultation, our doctors will examine your unique situation and tell you if they think fat transfer will work well for you.
How Does a Facial Fat Transfer Work?
Fat cells that are taken from the belly, hips, neck, or thighs and grafted into the face continue to live in the new location. Dr. Coleman’s central idea was that fat cells must be grafted in small amounts at multiple levels of the face. This is so that they will each have enough oxygen and nutrition from the facial blood supply to survive.
Since his early work, the techniques of fat micro-grafts have evolved. We now use tiny cannulas to place the fat in precise response to the particular and individual needs of each patient. Once the fat grafts have taken, they can integrate into facial tissue to provide enduring volume.
Fat Grafting Procedure
Facial fat transfer (grafting) is a surgical procedure that involves harvesting fat from an area in the body. These areas include the belly, hips, neck, or thighs. Our office uses specialized and gentle liposuction under local anesthesia or appropriate outpatient sedation. During the same procedure, our doctors place the fat in the face to improve the appearance of areas of concern.
If necessary, you can repeat the fat transfer procedure to further improve these areas over time. Since most people want to avoid looking “overdone”, our doctors are careful to achieve a natural appearance. Facial fat grafting can be safely performed in an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) or in our office surgery procedure room. This depends on the person’s health and the types of concomitant surgery that are planned.
What Should I Expect at My Fat Grafting Consultation?
Our team views every consultation as an opportunity for give-and-take flow of information between you and us. For fat grafting, you’ll begin by describing areas of your face you would like to augment with transferred fat cells. You’ll discuss the results you hope to achieve with your fat transfer and we will listen intently.
Next, we will discuss the areas where our doctors could potentially harvest the fat for transfer. You may have specifics in mind, or you may want us to select donor sites.
Then it’s our turn. We will examine your face, looking at your facial aging and the underlying causes. Fat transfers cannot replace a facelift if you have a good deal of loose, sagging skin. But if your problems are due to volume loss from declining collagen production and natural aging, fat transfers could be a great option, either alone or as part of a comprehensive rejuvenation program that includes lifting and skin treatments.
We’ll also examine the donor area(s) discussed. It’s important that you have adequate fat in these areas.
Once our team decides you’re a good candidate for a fat transfer, they’ll describe the procedure in detail, including the results you can expect and the minimal risks involved. We’ll discuss what you can expect on the day of your treatment and the simple recovery afterward.
Throughout your consultation, you’re encouraged to ask any and all questions. By the end of your session, whether you choose to move forward with the procedure or not, you will be well-versed in the entire fat transfer process.
Who Is a Good Candidate for Fat Transfer?
Our office uses fat grafting on the face to return volume to laugh lines, smile lines, crow’s feet, under-eye hollows, sunken cheeks, the lips, and to correct acne scarring.
Good candidates are generally in good overall health, have enough fat available from another area of the body, and have realistic expectations. Fat grafting may be a good option for patients seeking a longer-lasting alternative to temporary fillers, using their own natural tissue.
Fat grafting is not ideal for everyone. If you have significant loose or sagging skin, eyelid surgery, a forehead lift, a facelift, a neck lift, or another procedure may be a better fit.
Alternatives to Fat Transfer Surgery:
Much like the fat transfer procedure, FDA-approved fillers can contour the face and add volume to rejuvenate the area of concern temporarily. Modern facial fillers, lasting from about six months to two years, can be injected in minutes, and are very popular. The majority of patients are happy with the results.
First-timers also like the idea that the fillers are reversible and can dissolve if they’re not happy. The possibility of bruising and the fact that the fillers are temporary are the primary downsides. In contrast, fat transfer provides a longer-lasting, natural alternative.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Choose Fante Eye & Face Center for Fat Transfer?
Successful facial fat transfer depends on more than simply adding volume. The fat must be harvested gently, prepared carefully, and placed in small amounts across the appropriate facial layers so that the transferred cells have the best chance of survival. At Fante Eye & Face Center, our doctors use a conservative, detail-oriented approach to restore volume while avoiding an overfilled appearance.
The team evaluates facial aging as a whole, including volume loss, skin quality, eyelid changes, brow position, cheek support, and lower-face laxity. This helps determine whether fat transfer should be performed alone or as part of a broader rejuvenation plan with eyelid surgery, facelift, neck rejuvenation, fillers, or skin treatments.
Because facial fat grafting uses your own tissue, it can provide a soft, natural feel and long-lasting improvement for the right patient. Our doctors will explain the benefits, limitations, recovery process, and alternatives so you can make an informed decision.
Fat Transfer Consultation in Denver, Greenwood Village, Castle Pines and Highlands Ranch
If you are interested in restoring facial volume, softening hollow areas, or improving facial contours with your own natural tissue, Fante Eye & Face Center can help you explore whether fat transfer is right for you.
To book a consultation with Fante Eye & Face Center in Denver, CO, serving patients from Greenwood Village, Castle Pines and the surrounding communities, call (303) 839-1616 today