Achieving a plump cheek through transplant of fat from the stomach and buttocks

One begins to look relatively older when the cheeks start losing its fat and plumpness. In cases like this, the best corrective procedure is to fill the hollow areas by implanting fat from the patient's buttocks or stomach.

It is an ideal method because not only can a large amount be transplanted, but because the fat cells come from the patient's body, the effect of the transplant is near permanent.

Since 30-40% of the transplanted fat cells become settled into the area, an amount in excess of the target amount needs to be transplanted at first, or alternatively, smaller amounts can be transplanted over 2 to 3 procedures. The fat cells that survive after the 2 to 3 procedures instead of being absorbed can be considered one's own and hence the patient will be able to maintain the plump face near permanently.

Unlike older procedures for removal of facial wrinkles, fat implant procedures can be performed with just local anesthesia with no pain and return to daily life is immediate. There are variances depending on the amount of fat implanted and depending on the individual patients, but swelling can continue up to one week and rarely bruising occurs as well. These side effects disappear within a one to two week period and do not affect one's daily life.

The fat cells are extracted from the patient's stomach and buttocks areas with a syringe and these fat cells are processed through a centrifuge and a sterile filtering process to obtain pure fat cells. These filtered fat cells are then injected via a blunt tip syringe through the nose. Since there are no incisions or closures there is no concern for scars.

Care needs to be taken not to rub or apply too much pressure to the applied area because the fat cells may not settle into the area well if shifted around. Facial cleansing needs to done with care. Skin care is only possible two weeks after the procedure.