For decades body contouring has been done with liposuction, abdominoplasty and other methods of “subtractionâ€. What has become more common is to look at the entire body and see if there are areas that could benefit from MORE volume. Traditionally fat that was removed was discarded. Waistlines, saddlebags, abdominal bulging all were improved by this, but some areas were left deflated. Instead of throwing that fat away, why not use it to help inflate and shape the breasts, buttock or even face? It is your fat and so there is no risk of rejection. Since it is not a synthetic filler, it won’t degrade.
One of the benefits of my reconstruction experience is that certain techniques and tools are created to address specific aspects of limitations to breast reconstruction results. A lot of these same issues exist in our cosmetic patients and this technology can translate to our aesthetic practice. Fat grafting is an excellent example. The science and technology has now allowed us to place fat in an area and have a much more successful and symmetrical result. We now expect to get over 50% of the fat to survive and the body absorbs the rest. Once fat is transferred to another area, the body must circulate new blood vessels to the fat so that it will survive. The amount of fat must be judged so that the area is not overwhelmed and too much of the fat is lost. Once the fat cell is established, it should survive just like the rest of your fat cells and, so it doesn’t just “go awayâ€. Fat is not as powerful a shape medium as a breast implant for example, but it allows us to put fat exactly where we want it, as opposed to an implant which has fixed dimensions. The only people who aren’t candidates for the surgery are those without enough subcutaneous fat. I’m sure you’ve got one or two skinny friends that you