What Is Structural Fat Grafting?
Structural fat grafting is a cosmetic procedure used to reconstruct and restore the shape of body parts by transferring fat from one area of the body to the other area of the body. This technique also helps remove excess fat from one body part, which has to be purified and injected into the other body part where additional volume is needed using liposuction. In liposuction, a needle is used for air suction, which can be used to extract the fat. The extracted fat is then purified by removing additional fluids.
Later, the purified fat is injected into the respective places using syringes. The commonly used donor site for fat retrieval is the stomach, buttocks, or thighs. The most common sites for fat transfer are the breasts and buttocks. It can be used to reconstruct the face by enhancing the facial appearance of certain injuries, surgeries, radiation, burns, scars, congenital deformities, and asymmetry.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Structural Fat Grafting?
The pros of structural fat grafting include
-
Reduce Allergic Reactions: Structural fat grafting reduces allergic reactions by using the body’s fat tissues for grafting, contouring, enhancing, and reshaping the body. Other techniques use an implant or other material that can elucidate allergic reactions.
-
Contour the Body: Structural fat grafting helps in contouring the body in two ways by extracting fat from the unwanted area through liposuction, especially in the abdomen and thighs, and also by increasing the volume in the required area through the injection of extracted fat, especially in the breasts and buttocks.
-
Reduce Scars: Structural fat grafting helps reduce scar formation by using minimal incisions to remove and reinject fat. In the case of other techniques, they require larger incisions and also produce large scars.
-
Faster Recovery: Structural fat grafting speeds up the recovery period by placing smaller incisions and not using any foreign bodies for contouring, thereby enhancing the recovery period with minimal discomfort.
-
Life-Long Results: Structural fat grafting provides life-long results by injecting fat into the respective area. The body absorbs 30 to 50 percent of the injected fat, and further injections can increase the volume until the desired result is reached.
Cons of structural fat grafting include
-
Limited Augmentation: Structural fat grafting helps enhance the shape to a limited extent, depending on the availability of fat tissues in the body. In the case of breast augmentation, the breast size can be increased to the next size, but with breast implants, the size can be increased to a greater extent based on the needs. To increase the size using structural fat grafting, repeat the surgery until the results are satisfied.
-
Fat Survival: In structural fat grafting, the transferred fat is absorbed by the body to the extent of 30 to 50 percent, thereby losing the larger portion of the transferred fat. To compensate for the loss, the surgeon has to attempt again based on the available fat in the body until the desired results are obtained. Results are usually less reliable than those from other techniques.
What Is a Permanent Filler?
Dermal fillers are a cosmetic procedure used to reduce wrinkles, make smooth lines, and restore body parts' volume by injecting dermal fillers into the respective body parts under the skin. Dermal fillers are mostly used to attain a youthful appearance. The results may vary based on the filler used and the region in which it is used. Numerous dermal fillers are available and are classified as temporary, semi-permanent, and permanent dermal fillers.
Temporary dermal fillers like hyaluronic acid, collagen-based fillers, etc., last only six months to a year. Semi-permanent dermal fillers, including poly-L-lactic acid, last 12 to 18 months and are used for deeper laugh lines, wrinkles, and crow’s feet. Permanent dermal fillers are not easily broken down by the body and are used in areas of thick skin, like nasolabial folds, where they can last for about five years or more.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Permanent Fillers?
The pros of permanent dermal fillers include
-
Natural Look: Dermal fillers are used to smooth the lines and wrinkles and fill the lips and cheeks, enhancing one’s look.
-
Suitable for Any Body Parts: Dermal fillers help to improve any body part, even when the part does not have enough fat, like the jawline and under the eyes, by injecting them directly into the skin. It can help achieve results in less time.
-
Restore Collagen: Dermal fillers help stimulate collagen growth by providing a youthful appearance.
-
Readjustment: Readjustments can be done in cases of dissatisfaction with the results by giving another injection with dermal fillers to a certain extent.
Cons of permanent dermal fillers include
-
As the results of dermal fillers tend to fade after some time, the patient has to undergo further procedures to maintain the effect.
-
The side effects of dermal fillers are bruising, swelling, or bleeding. It may resolve on its own within a few weeks.
Is Structural Fat Grafting Better Than Permanent Fillers?
-
Both structural fat grafting and permanent dermal fillers have pros and cons.
-
Structural fat grafting provides life-long results compared to temporary dermal fillers, which tend to fade over time.
-
Structural fat grafting uses the patient’s fat tissues from the body; dermal fillers use a foreign body, like an implant or a substance, to increase the size. Structural fat grafting minimizes the risk of allergic reactions.
-
Dermal fillers are usually non-surgical and often have a faster recovery period when compared with structural fat grafting.
Conclusion
Structural fat grafting does more than permanent dermal fillers by not only filling the area but also affecting the surrounding tissues in which it is placed to improve the quality of the patient’s life by correcting deformities, asymmetry, scars, burns, radiation damage, and so on. The drawback associated with it fades after six to eight months. It may need an additional procedure for better results and to maintain the effects.
