Harvesting Fat for Cosmetic Surgery

When it comes to fat, almost everyone is eager to get rid of a bit of their own. The mere mention of the word is enough to make many people cringe. It’s a dirty word that nobody wants anything to do with – unless that person is a cosmetic surgeon! To a plastic surgeon, body fat might just be liquid gold.

New advances in plastic surgery techniques are bringing about a rise in the use of a patient’s own fat to augment certain areas of the body such as breasts, buttocks, and even the face. Where once doctors suctioned off fat and then discarded it, new research and techniques have demonstrated that there are places on the body where adding fat may be a good thing.

Body augmentation procedures that involve using one’s own fat are not as simple as just removal and re-injection. The technique known as fat harvesting involves the removal of body fat (much like a normal liposuction procedure), and the preparation for re-introduction back into the body all while keeping the cells alive. There are different methods of fat harvesting, from a vacuum to ultrasound technology which mobilizes the cells, but the end result is always the same: safe, cost effective, and easily available filler material.

The most popular procedures that use one’s body fat as part of the cosmetic procedure are breast augmentation and facial treatments. Breast augmentations can be done solely with fat or in combination with other types of implants. As for facial procedures, a patient’s fat makes an excellent filler for features such as lips and cheeks.

As new techniques continue to improve in the area of fat harvesting, more and more plastic surgeons are exploring the uses that fat can have in the plastic surgery arena. Although using fat is not a new procedure, it is quickly becoming the cutting-edge approach to certain body augmentations.

While fat fillers do not work across the board for all procedures, they do have increasing applications in the field of cosmetic surgery. To learn more about fat harvesting and how it relates to certain cosmetic procedures contact Pinsky Plastic Surgery. Scheduling a consultation and discussing how this breakthrough can work for you is the best way to get the information you need!