FAT GRAFTING

Fat Grafting

FAT GRAFTING – LIPOFILLING

Liposculpture allows the doctor to get some amount of fat from the abdomen and place it in the calves when they are not shapely, or in another area such as the face, lips, or for highlighting cheekbone.

Τι είναι η λιπομεταμόσχευση;

It is an groovy operation in the U.S. performed by plastic surgeons after removal of unwanted localized fat from almost every part of the body such as the face, neck (double chin), breast, abdomen, buttocks, inner and outer thighs, buns, knees, ankles and gynecomastia.

As said before, liposuction removes the fat excess in an area of the body.

This fat is collected and then it can be repositioned in various other parts of the body (lipofilling) that need it so that the body gets perfect harmony.

For example, the doctor may take a certain amount of fat from the abdomen and place it in the calves, when they are not shapely, or in another area such as the face, lips, or for highlighting cheekbone.

The fat taken can be applied to the entire body, where there is excess fat, such as the buttocks, thighs, abdomen and arms. Fat intake can be made from the neck (jowl), which can be applied either as a single regional liposuction or as part of a face-neck lifting. Finally, fat intake is an important complementary technique in most cosmetic procedures such as abdominoplasty, arms plastic surgery, gynecomastia, but is also used in the state of the art form of breast reduction.

A complete medical history is received before the operation and patients are examined in order to assess their situation. The doctor describes the whole procedure and the results to be expected. Photos are often taken before and after operation.

After the whole lipofilling procedure patients are soon fully alert and functional. They do not present symptoms of nausea and fatigue that follow general anesthesia. In the hours after the operation patients are fully mobilized. In addition patients always return to their office within 1-2 days.

The result of lipofilling is very long and the modern techniques, where the received adipocytes are not abused but are perfectly fit for transplantation, provide effects lasting from 5 to 10 years or even more.

WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO KEEP THE RESULT?

The only thing that can affect the outcome of lipofilling is a great weight loss after surgery. Living adipocytes essentially follow the fluctuations endured by the remaining adipocytes in the body. This means that in case of major loss of adipose tissue, those cells too will shrink!

Lipofilling can be applied anywhere on the face or body. It is applied most often in breast augmentation when the use of silicone implants is unwanted especially because the final result is totally natural.

Another common area is the buttocks mainly in their upper parts where fat placement leads to reconstruction of the area. Virtually any physical area that shows retraction or relaxation may be supported by adipocyte transplant.

Besides the body lipofilling is also applied in the face, especially the nasal grooves and cheekbones. In these areas adipocytes serve as a highly worthy substitutes for any other form of material, because their natural result and long duration of correction are far more superior.

As said earlier, the most serious advantage is the safe use of an autologous (derived from the same body) material free from any possibility of an allergic response. Another advantage is the long duration of correction caused by lipofilling (5 -10 years). Of great importance is the natural result and the ideal simulation of the normal image of the area after lipofilling. Finally, a macroeconomic study shows amply that lipofilling is the most economical and safest method of reconstruction.

The technique of lipofilling basically includes both adipocytes and a large number of stem cells that are abundant in the endothelium of vessels that march in the adipose tissue.

The fat that is rich in stem cells can be used in areas with old postoperative or not scars leading to great improvement, which is a particularly popular treatment. So lipofilling can have both an anaplastic and aesthetic effect.

Dr. Boukouvalas is a Lecturer at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Scientific Director of the Medical team and CEO of Anagenesis as well as Director of the Metropolitan Hospital Plastic, Reconstructive & Cosmetic Surgery Clinic. Also a member of ISPRAS, HESPRAS, EBOPRAS, IPRAS.

How is lipofilling performed?

The operation is performed under local anesthesia and sedation, namely, patients do not receive general anesthesia, breath on their own and do not feel pain and soon after surgery they are able to return home.

The whole procedure involves first in the stage of lipoanarrofisis injection in the area where we want to remove fat, a large quantity of special local anesthetic solution. After that fat is removed using thin tools in the context of the so-called high definition liposuction.

Then this fat after appropriate treatment (centrifugation, purification, condensation) is reintroduced into the body by correcting in an ideal way the imperfect zones or by aesthetically enhancing other body regions such as the face (nasal wrinkles, cheekbones etc.)

Particular mention must be made to the contradistinction of the use of our fat in relation to any other material (fillers). Our fat is a material which by definition cannot show the slightest form of allergy, since it comes from our own body.

Also, the correction made using fat has a very long duration, which can be as long as a decade and varies tremendously from the one and a half year duration of various forms of hyaluronic acid. It is the least expensive method, if we count the quantities of hyaluronic one would need all these years when the effect of lipofilling lasts.

Therefore lipofilling clearly outdoes the use of injectable materials in terms of duration of effect, quality of effect, because we can comfortably lipofill the amount of adipocytes needed and in terms of treatment costs due to the multiannual effect.