The Facial Rejuvenation Process: Before, During, and After
Facial rejuvenation is a growing trend in many places. Among the ideal ways of doing the procedure is through fat transfer, where the fat fillers your doctor uses come from your body. Experts in the field refer to this as autologous fat transfer.
The procedure promises a youthful appearance and can correct other facial issues like scars. Facial rejuvenation involves your lips, cheeks, nose, and areas under the eyes. Facial rejuvenation through autologous fat transfer (AFT) follows three simple steps.
Before
The first step in this process is consultation. The doctor will help you understand the benefits and risks of the procedure. They may also offer alternative options depending on your expectations. After this, you must give consent to proceed. A physician must also evaluate and clear you for the surgery. Before the procedure, the physician will prepare the donor and recipient sites on your body.
During
This step involves fat harvesting, processing, and transfer. Harvesting includes retrieving fat from donor areas of your body with rich fat reservoirs. Common donor sites include your buttocks, abdomen, periumbilical zone, lateral, medial, and anterior thigh.
After harvesting, the next step is processing the fat. The processing or refining process involves separating the viable fat from the redundant components.
Transferring viable fat to the target areas on your face happens in multiple one-milliliter syringes. Your physician delivers the fat using withdrawing movements. The movements ensure that they deposit the fat with minimum resistance. Transfer of the fat injection moves in three-dimensional passes in different levels and pathways. Placing the injections in this manner ensures a better aesthetic outcome.
After
After completing the fat transfer, you may experience bruising or swelling around the donor and target sites. The swelling may subside in a few days. You can counter any discomfort with pain medicine. In some cases, patients may need to wear compression garments for two to three days. The garments help reduce stress on the graft areas.
Like any other medical procedure, you must follow all the postoperative directions from your physician. You can return to your normal daily activities approximately two days after the procedure. Results of facial-fat rejuvenation are evident after the recession of any swelling.
Benefits
Facial fat rejuvenation has several benefits. It reverts the face aging process and uses natural fat from your own body. The fat can help fix other facial blemishes like depression on the skin and scars. The effects of the procedure last longer than its obverse cosmetic injectables.
Results from this procedure may either be permanent or last for many years. Since the fat comes from your body, you should have no allergic reactions.
Complications
The rate of infections from this procedure is low, as it requires absolute sterility. However, some complications may occur, such as:
Contour irregularity
Pain from inadequate anesthesia
Overcorrection from the transfer of excess fat
Impairment around the donor site due to unequal fat harvesting
Under-correction from the insufficient transfer of fat
Blisters, bruises, scars, ecchymosis, and edema
Irregular contours
For more on the facial rejuvenation process, contact Pacific Lipo at our offices in San Diego, Beverly Hills, or Newport Beach, California. You can call (858) 427-8899, (424) 421-2250, or (888) 575-8898 to book an appointment today.
