Facial Fat Grafting Dallas

Fat grafting is intended to soften features, cover exposed bone of aging, and to provide an appearance of a younger, rejuvenated face. The best way that Dr. Lam describes these benefits is in terms of what he calls “Right Brain Results”, meaning that you should look more youthful, attractive, rested, and balanced. However, “Left Brain Results” are unachievable, meaning elimination of a fold, perfect symmetry, etc. By understanding those elements, you will understand how fat grafting can have benefits without misunderstanding the limitations.

A natural question is whether fat grafting survives since the Internet is replete with surgeons and patients claiming that fat grafting is only temporary in nature. Dr. Lam performs facial fat grafting in his own surgery center in Plano, Texas (north of Dallas, Texas) almost every week and has done so for 20 years. He would not be performing this procedure if he did not believe his results were long-term and amazing. He describes fat grafting phases postoperatively to help people understand the difference between swelling and graft survival. The first phase postoperatively in the first couple weeks of fat grafting represents swelling where you may think too much fat was placed but it is just swelling. At 4 to 8 weeks you may think that your result is perfect, but this may also represent some residual swelling and absolutely does not reflect a long-term result. After several months the fat will diminish and the portion that survives will persist. Usually, Dr. Lam believes whatever survives after 6 months is permanent in nature minus further aging. When the fat graft diminishes a bit at this time, he encourages you to review photographs to show that the result still looks substantially better from a right-brain perspective rather than a perfect left-brain result (see above for explanation).

This 55-year-old woman is shown before and one year after an upper and lower blepharoplasty and fat grafting with good aesthetic rejuvenation.

A few other limitations with fat grafting should be stated, mostly due to Internet misinformation. There are many physicians, especially cosmetic injectors, who argue that filling a face full enough will allow the neck and jawline to lift upwards. Dr. Lam condemns this comment and does not believe that fat or fillers can lift a face. He only believes a face and neck lift can lift tissues sufficiently to deliver a reasonable cosmetic outcome. Secondly, fat grafting should not be used to eliminate folds around the mouth or wrinkles around the eyes. Fat is placed too deeply and it is too soft a product to work on these lines. Instead, Dr. Lam uses fillers, lasers, and Botox to manage these conditions rather than fat. Finally, as mentioned, fat grafting is not a great option to try to make a face symmetric since no face will ever achieve any reasonable level of symmetry.

At Lam Facial Plastics in Dallas, your Facial Fat Grafting visit follows three simple steps. First is gentle fat harvesting from small areas like the belly or thighs using handheld syringes, not a machine. This protects delicate fat cells and keeps removal minimal, so you should not expect a visible change in body contour. Dr. Lam selects the best donor site for quality and safety. Entry points are tiny needle sticks, often hidden at the groin crease or inside the belly button.

Next, the fat is purified so only healthy cells are used. Dr. Lam uses a closed filtration system, such as PureGraft, to wash and filter out impurities. The purified fat is then placed into sterile syringes for precise placement.

Finally, Dr. Lam places microdroplets of fat with fine, blunt cannulas to restore volume where you need it most. This approach helps reduce bruising, improves safety, and enhances fat survival. The procedure typically takes about 1 to 2 hours in Dr. Lam’s accredited surgical facility in Plano, just north of Dallas. There are no large incisions or bandages, and most patients appreciate how streamlined and comfortable the experience feels.

The hardest part of the fat grafting recovery is looking too swollen for the first couple of weeks. He usually says this mantra to have you understand most likely your psychological perspective: “No one likes it at a week; others will probably like it at two weeks; and it may take you three weeks to like the result.” Of course, everyone is different in terms of how they react to the result and to recover. Staying with a good diet and reducing your stress can help expedite healing along with avoiding any exercise for a week following the procedure. Thereafter, it is recommended for the second week to minimize exercise like straining or bending over in order to speed up resolution of swelling even though these types of activities in general should not impair the result in any way.

There is otherwise very little after care following a standard fat grafting. Since there are no incisions, there is no direct aftercare. Ice packs 20 minutes on the face and 20 minutes off the face can help reduce swelling for the first week but good rest, elevation, and diet will do most of the work. If other procedures are performed, then after care will vary. For example, if an upper blepharoplasty was also performed, then cleaning and ointment will be advised. If a lower blepharoplasty was undertaken, then eye drops may help with eyelid lubrication for the first week. These details will be discussed with you during your preoperative visit and tailored to the procedures you will be having.

Fat grafting if done by Dr. Lam’s artistic eye and careful surgical technique should yield natural, long-lasting results for facial rejuvenation. Even though there will be some absorption of fat over the first few months, the overall result should appeal to the “right brain”, as mentioned, that is, you should look younger and more attractive without someone being able to know why that is the case. A gentle coverage of bony landmarks will yield a softer appearance to the face and diminish the hard transitions lines of aging. To make any one area of the face perfect with fat grafting is impossible, but to soften multiple features can make a face appealing in a way that is undetectable and natural.

Once blood supply is formally in place for the fat graft, approximately 6 months or longer after the procedure, the result can be considered “permanent”. The best way to understand permanence is that the result is permanent minus further aging. Dr. Lam likens your face to a glass of water with a tiny hole at the bottom. The water is the fat in your face, which gradually diminishes over time like a glass of water gradually losing water because of the tiny hole. Dr. Lam refills the glass of water but gradually it continues to go down. Hopefully, even a decade later you should still look better if you take care of yourself with good diet, avoid excessive sun exposure, minimize stress, etc. If you have two identical twins, one of whom has a fat graft procedure and the other does not and you can control for lifestyle (same sun exposure, diet, stress, exercise, etc.), then the identical twin who had the fat graft should still look much younger than the identical twin who did not have the fat transfer, but both still would have aged 10 years since fat grafting does not arrest the aging process. A second fat graft procedure would be done years later only if you so desire or have experienced sufficient aging to make it worthwhile.

Facial fat grafting in Dr. Lam’s hands is uniquely different in his artistic vision and technical execution. Fat grafting cannot fix skin problems or lift sagging tissues. Fat transfer is intended to soften hollow areas, especially around the eyes, to make a face appear more rested and youthful. The procedure is a good complement to traditional blepharoplasty, cosmetic eyelid surgery, and face and neck lifting. Dr. Lam is a world authority on fat grafting and has many patients who fly into Dallas, Texas, for him to treat them.