Lipofilling: volume with your own fat

In lipofilling, your own fat is used to replenish volume. The fat is removed from a place where it is superfluous and inserted where volume is lacking. Lipofilling is part of liposculpture, in which removing fat and adding fat go together. In this article you can read how it works, where it is used and what you may expect from it.

What lipofilling is

Lipofilling, also called fat transplantation, moves fat within your own body. Because it concerns your own tissue, no foreign material is introduced.

The main difference with a filler is the durability. A filler with hyaluronic acid is gradually broken down by the body. Injected fat is not broken down in the same way. At the same time, lipofilling is a procedure, with a removal, a processing and an insertion of your own fat.

Where it is used

• The face. To replenish volume in the cheeks, the temples or around the eyes. After an eyelid correction of the lower or upper eyelid, fat is sometimes inserted to soften the transition to the eyebrow or the cheek.
• The breasts. A breast augmentation with your own fat gives a limited gain in volume. Sometimes fat is combined with an implant, to make the transition to the implant softer. That is called a hybrid breast augmentation.
• The buttocks. To adjust the shape and the volume of the buttocks, as with a Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL)
• Corrections. To correct an irregularity after an earlier procedure or a retracted scar.

How the procedure proceeds

Because lipofilling combines removing fat and inserting fat, it usually takes place under sedation or general anaesthesia. Small amounts in the face can sometimes be carried out under local anaesthesia.

Not all injected fat remains

Inserted fat has to acquire blood vessels again in its new environment in order to survive. Part of the fat does not succeed in this and is broken down by the body in the first months. How much remains differs from person to person and from zone to zone.

That is why the doctor sometimes inserts slightly more fat than is ultimately needed, and sometimes a second session is useful to achieve the desired volume. Only after a few months do you see how much fat is permanent.

Fat that takes behaves like other fat in the body. If you gain or lose weight, the inserted fat changes along with it.

What the recovery requires

Both the zone where fat was removed and the zone where it was inserted are swollen and sensitive in the first days. Bruises gradually fade. At the site of the liposuction you usually wear compression garments. At the site of the lipofilling you avoid pressure, so that the chance of survival of the fat is maximal.

When you resume your usual activities depends on the extent of the procedure. Your doctor will discuss this with you. With sports you wait until your doctor allows it.

For whom

Lipofilling requires that there is enough fat somewhere on your body to remove. With a very slim body that can be a limitation. A stable weight is also important, because the inserted fat follows the fluctuations of the body.

Risks to be aware of

Possible risks are swelling, bruises, an infection, an uneven distribution of the fat and the dissolving of a larger part of the fat than expected. Sometimes small hardenings or cysts form. In the breast these may be visible on later imaging. Therefore mention at a mammography or ultrasound that you have had a lipofilling.

Questions you can ask

Is there enough fat in my case to remove, and where? How much of the fat will probably take? Is a second session to be expected? How long do I wear compression garments, and where? What may I not do in the first weeks, so that the fat gets the chance to take?

Lipofilling requires patience. What you see in the first weeks is often more volume than what ultimately remains, because the swelling and the fat that is still dissolving are included. Only after a few months do you see the definitive result.

Do not smoke in the weeks before and after the procedure. Smoking reduces the blood supply, and inserted fat needs precisely a good blood supply in order to be able to survive. Sufficient rest, a varied diet and drinking enough also support the recovery.

Making an appointment

Are you considering a procedure and would you like to know what the recovery requires in your case? Then make an appointment for a consultation, a first conversation. You can reach us on 050 97 79 30. Our clinic is located at Gruuthuselaan 7, 8020 Oostkamp.

This information is general in nature and does not replace a personal consultation.