Over time, the skin begins to sag, becoming flabby. This is the first sign of aging that appears on the face. Stress, pollution and sunlight also leave their marks on facial skin. Over the years this will inevitably be accompanied by a decrease in the firmness of the facial skin and connective tissues - especially in those who do not gain extra pounds - thus facial fat can dramatically reduce too. One solution is to replenish the face with your own body fat, which will make the face fuller and smoother with no surgical incisions or allergic reactions, using a completely natural material.
Facial lipofilling
When is a facial lipofilling warranted?
It is common that the sagging of facial skin does not reach the level whereby plastic surgery or a facelift is required, yet the face gives a tired impression due to the deep wrinkles and washed-out facial contours that appear through the decrease in adipose tissue. Facial lipofilling – also known as a facial fat transfer or fat grafting - is especially recommended for those who want to achieve a long-term effect with the body’s own natural filler.
What happens during the first consultation?
During the first consultation, our plastic surgeon will examine your face and then suggest any corrections considered necessary. They will explain the different options and techniques to achieve the best results for you.
Preparing for surgery
As with any surgical procedure, before facial lipofilling (facial fat transfer) you will need to have an examination to ensure that there are no obstacles to the procedure. In our private hospital, we perform all the necessary laboratory tests at the same time to save you time and make your preparations for surgery more convenient. You will then also receive some lifestyle tips to help you prepare for the procedure and to speed your recovery. These include quitting smoking - at least temporarily - as nicotine slows the healing processes, consuming adequate amounts of fluids, vitamins and trace elements (vitamin C, selenium, zinc), and avoiding the use of aspirin, ginkgo biloba and other natural remedies, because these affect blood clotting.
What happens during surgery?
Facial lipofilling is performed under local anesthetic and the duration of this cosmetic procedure is one hour. To replenish the face with your own fat, we first obtain adipose tissue from around the abdomen, buttocks or hips, as fat cells from these areas of the body are depleted the slowest, which is the key to long-term results. The removed adipose tissue is sedimented and purified through a special filter before the pure adipocytes are injected into the desired facial area. The grafted adipose tissue quickly stabilizes at the site of the transfer, but since 20-40% of the administered amount is absorbed within a few weeks, there is always a need to ’overfill’ the face by this amount. Because of this, initially it may appear as though you have gained a few pounds, but this quickly wears off.
Recovery, regeneration
After the procedure, following a few hours’ observation we allow you to go home, where you will be able to work calmly and do your usual tasks. In a few cases, a small amount of bruising may occur, but this will fade by itself within a couple of days. The advantage of this cosmetic procedure is that it is free of allergic reactions and uses the body’s own tissue. Our plastic surgeon will call you back for a postoperative examination at a specified time. The results of facial lipofilling are immediately visible and where necessary the procedure can be repeated after six months as the transferred fat is absorbed continuously in 2-4 years.