Scarring may develop from the liposuction incisions. These incisions are small, and the scars are often inconspicuous once they have healed. There is usually no scarring at the transfer sites because the fat is injected with a thin needle.
Fat transfer patients can reduce their post-operative scarring by keeping their healing incisions out of the sun and applying silicone strips and gel. All scars will fade with time.
Not all of the harvested and transferred fat will survive. Occasionally, repeated treatments are necessary to obtain optimal results.
The fat that does survive will be long lasting as the body does not absorb it or break it down as other injectable treatments, such as dermal fillers.
It can take up to six months for your fat transfer results to fully develop.
Fat is beneficial over other injections/implants because there is almost no chance of rejection or allergic reaction. As fat transfer requires liposuction, however, there are rare side effects that can occur. These include:
Candidates for fat transfer must have an adequate amount of fat elsewhere on their body that can be harvested through liposuction. This fat can come from any region of the body, but it must come from their own body.
Fat transfer is an organic way to restore volume to areas that have lost it or never had it. Unfortunately, not every potential patient has enough fat on their body to harvest. These patients will need to seek out alternative treatments to restore or create volume.
