Facial Fat Transfer

Facial fat transfer using liposuction from a donor site (abdomen or thigh), centrifugation to yield microfat and nanofat fractions, and injection into the face to restore volume lost with ageing. Addresses under-eye hollowing, cheek deflation, temple volume loss, nasolabial deepening, and lip thinning. Surgery runs two to three hours under deep sedation. Offers long-lasting autologous volume with no synthetic filler material.

City Facial Plastics performs facial fat transfer — also called autologous fat grafting or structural fat grafting — as a method of restoring facial volume using the patient's own adipose tissue, providing an alternative to synthetic dermal fillers for patients seeking longer-lasting volumisation without foreign material. The procedure begins with liposuction harvest from a donor site with adequate adipose reserve, typically the lower abdomen, inner thighs, or flanks; the harvest is performed through small (3–4 mm) incisions using a blunt-tipped harvesting cannula with a low-vacuum, gentle suction technique designed to maximise adipocyte viability during extraction. The harvested fat is then centrifuged at a calibrated speed to separate the lipoaspirate into three fractions: the aqueous infranatant (discarded), the purified fat middle layer (the graft material), and the oily supernatant (discarded). The purified fat is further refined into a microfat fraction for volumising and a nanofat fraction — produced by mechanically emulsifying microfat through small gauge needles — for injection into the finest skin layers and periocular regions where larger particles would not integrate smoothly. The microfat and nanofat are then introduced to the face via multiple small injection passes using fine-gauge blunt cannulas, allowing three-dimensional placement at the level of the deep fat compartments and the superficial dermis respectively. Common target areas include the under-eye tear trough and periorbital hollowing, the mid-face and cheek fat compartments, the temples, the nasolabial folds, the marionette lines, and the lips. Surgery runs approximately two to three hours under deep sedation or general anesthesia. A proportion of transferred fat (typically 40–70%) achieves permanent engraftment; a second fat transfer session may be planned after initial swelling resolves to refine the outcome.