Innovations in Fat Transfer
- Posted on: Mar 15 2020
Dr. Amirlak likes to use fat grafting/fat transfer as filler material for the face and the backs of the hands. For one thing, using the person’s own fat is a natural solution — you’re simply moving if from where you don’t want it to areas you do. Second, these are permanent changes. Unlike the injection of dermal fillers, such as Juvéderm, which will fill the area for around nine months, the fat cells that successfully transfer can provide permanent enhancement.
Dr. Amirlak uses some innovative techniques for his fat transfers, and these further increase the chances of the fat successfully “taking.” Here’s some more on those innovations.
How is fat transfer done?
We discussed this in January’s blog, but here’s a recap. Fat transfer with Dr. Amirlak is truly a process of simply moving fat from an unwanted location to a wanted location. To harvest the fat, Dr. Amirlak uses liposuction on the donor site. This is an area you choose. Common donor sites are the lower abdomen, flanks, and thighs. The harvested tissue is then placed in a centrifuge to separate out the fat and the stem cells, and to discard everything else. Now the purified fat is injected into the areas that need volume, such as the backs of the hands and areas on the face such as the temples or the under-eye hollows.
Innovations
Some plastic surgeons have trouble with fat transfers, reporting they create lumpy and uneven texture. To overcome that, Dr. Amirlak uses cutting-edge technology to break the fat cells up to smaller or individual bundles of cells, which results in more natural final contour. Dr. Amirlak injects these smaller bundles of cells into the lower eyelids, the lips, the chin, as well as into the brow and temples.
This is referred to as micro fat grafting and fractionated fat grafting. The process was developed by Dr. Rod Rohrich at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. Dr. Amirlak has teamed with Dr. Rohrich to author several articles on fat grafting.
Another innovative method is nano fat grafting. This procedure was developed in Belgium with the help of Biocellular Regenerative Medicine. Research has shown that certain byproducts of fat cells and high concentrations of stem cells rejuvenate and increase the quality of the skin. Using a centrifuge, the unwanted byproducts of the harvest tissue are removed to maximize the concentration of stem cells that can then be injected back into the skin. Research on this process is ongoing, but the hypothesis is that the stem cells will enhance the patient’s skin quality at the injection sites.
Are you interested in fat transfer with Dr. Amirlak? Please call us at (972) 972-4708 to schedule a consultation.
Posted in: Fat injection
