Face the Fat: Fat Injection Vs. Fat Reduction

Wednesday, February 28th, 2018

You see the word “fat” and your initial reaction may be negative. Presently, this may be because our society is focused on general obesity and the negative aspects of fat. However, fat also can be beneficial. The 2 aspects may be combined.

At the Center For Plastic Surgery, we offer procedures that involve both adding fats to areas of deficit and removing it for a slimmer physique, both to provide a better appearance. So, what are these procedures? Let’s take a closer look.

Fat Injections

As we age, we gain fat in many places of our body, but our faces and hands generally lose fat and look older because of it. Our skin also loses collagen and elastin and develops fine lines and wrinkles made worse by loss of fatty support. Adding fat to these areas can reverse many of these signs of aging.

Fat injection removes fat from one part of your body (typically the abdomen, under chin, flanks, upper thighs, etc., places where you have extra) and then, after processing, injects it to alleviate lines, wrinkles or depressions or to improve contour. In fact, fat can be used anywhere a commercial filler such a Juvéderm™ is used. Although not all of the fat cells injected will survive, one of the unique benefits of a fat injection procedure is that results are typically permanent. Most areas injected are, therefore, slightly overfilled so the final result is close to what is desired.

Fat Reduction

In most instances, additional body fat can be unhealthy or contribute to poor self-esteem or both. Reduction of unhealthy fat involves dietary changes to reduce intra-abdominal fat. We generally refer to it as losing waist instead of weight. Once this is done, fat reduction of the external fat can improve your appearance and, thus, self-esteem. To help you do this, we offer two alternatives depending on the location and amount of the residual fat: liposuction and Zerona non-surgical laser treatment.

• Liposuction: Liposuction has been used for over 30 years and is one of the most popular cosmetic procedures. It involves numbing the area of localized fat and removing the fat by essentially suctioning it using very small tubes through small entry points.
• Zerona: Zerona is a non-invasive laser fat reduction procedure requiring no numbing and without surgery designed to remove larger areas of fat or help jump-start weight loss.

Like with most things in life, there are both benefits and problems with fat. If you want to learn more about either adding it or removing it to improve your appearance, schedule your consultation at our Highlands office today: (877) 526-3784.