Should You Add Facial Fat Transfer to Your Facelift?

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It’s often said that “time marches on,” which is true, but no one wants to look like time has been marching on right across their face. Wrinkles, sagging skin, jowls, and other signs of facial aging can cause frustration and a lack of confidence. 

Maybe you’ve decided to undergo a facelift, but you want to ensure you look natural and refreshed.

At Fiala Aesthetics, we understand that our patients want to look as young on the outside as they feel on the inside. That’s why Dr. Thomas Fiala offers facial fat transfer to complement your facelift procedure. 

Below, we explore how adding fat transfer to your facelift can enhance your results, leaving you with a more beautiful, harmonious look.   

Why Does Your Face Lose Volume as You Age?

Wrinkles and sagging skin aren’t the only signs of facial aging. Facial fat loss is another telling sign of the aging process.

When you’re young, the fat in your face is distributed evenly, shaping your cheeks, smoothing your forehead, and filling in space around your temples, eyes, and mouth. As you age, your skin loses its elasticity and supporting ligaments of the face lengthen, so the fat shifts downward, creating jowls. Meanwhile, your cheeks begin to look gaunt, and wrinkles deepen. 

Medical issues and lifestyle choices can also lead to volume loss in the face. The loss of estrogen during menopause also causes a depletion in facial fat. If you’re a smoker or spend too much time in the sun, you’ll see signs of premature aging, including noticeable wrinkles and less facial volume.  

While the loss of volume in your face is unavoidable, it is a condition that can be remedied using fat transfer (fat grafting).  

What Is Fat Transfer?

Fat transfer is the process of removing fat from one part of your body and injecting it into another. It’s a popular choice for women seeking a more natural way to increase their breast or buttock size, but it also excellent for adding volume to your face to restore the cheek shape, or fill in areas that have become gaunt. 

The fat transfer process begins with liposuction. Dr. Fiala will perform liposuction on an area with excess fat — typically your stomach, hips, or thighs. The fat harvested during liposuction is placed in a centrifuge, and the most viable fat cells are separated and carefully injected into the area targeted for plumping.

Fat transfer is an outpatient procedure, and while you will need to set aside a bit of downtime for liposuction recovery, there is no recovery time necessary for the fat transfer portion.    

Benefits of Adding Fat Transfer to Your Facelift

A facelift tightens and repositions the skin and deeper tissues of your face. It smooths out deep and superficial wrinkles, and gives a refreshed, more youthful appearance. However, a facelift cannot address the volume loss in your face, which is where fat transfer comes in.

Adding fat transfer to your facelift procedure has several benefits. You may choose fat transfer because it uses your own tissues to enhance your facelift results, instead of using dermal fillers. This provides a natural option for addressing facial volume loss and comes without risk of rejection or allergic reaction.

While dermal fillers are an excellent option for adding volume to your face, you must continue to use them consistently to maintain your look. Fat transfer is considered to be a semi-permanent solution, lasting much longer than dermal fillers. Fat transfer complements the smoothness of your face with more youthful contours. 

Learn More About Fat Transfer in Orlando

When looking for an expert in facial rejuvenation, look no further than Dr. Thomas Fiala and Fiala Aesthetics. His training, experience, and skill make him the premier choice for aesthetic cosmetic surgery in Florida. He provides individualized treatment plans for every patient, recommending the procedures that best address their goals. 

For more information on facelifts and fat transfer procedures or to schedule a consultation, call 407-339-3222 or fill out our online contact form.