How long should a filler last from fat derived from your body?
I had a "Lifestyle Lift" on 3/7/15 and was wondering about the "fat extracted from my tummy" used to fill in the lines around my nose during the procedure. After 2 weeks - I started noticing the lines (parentheses) coming back and was really concerned and a little upset. I made the 90 minute trip (from work to the P.S. office); he said that "we may need to do some more "liposuction to inject the lines again". I don't want to do that, because it was very painful when they extracted the fat from me not to mention the fact that it didn't last but 2 weeks!! Do I just need to give it more time for the fat to "settle" & relax the lines around my nose? Thank you very much.
Fat Will last Forever! It is a graft, like a skin graft or a bone graft. You have heard of those. Those grafts don't slowly "melt" or disappear over time. In fact, fat is the only graft that we know that can grow LARGER if there are more calories "in" than there are "out". Simply put, fat can get "FATTER"., which is why a few plastic surgeons don't like to use fat for filler. But fat getting fatter is very very rare.
The reason that there is a perception that fat "disappears" over time is that fat, unlike other grafts, is very fragile and when it is used for filler, only about 50% of the fat will survive the transfer process. The fat that does not survive the transfer process is washed away by your body over 3 to 4 weeks , so an incorrect understanding is that the fat is somehow "melting" or disappearing. Just not true! Thanks for your question.
The results of fat grafting will not get better with time. Please see a board certified plastic surgeon for evaluation.
When FAT GRAFTING is performed, there is no "STANDARD OF CARE" regarding post op instructions. We live in an age where fat grafting is just beginning! There are many different instructions that doctors give their patients regarding post surgery activity. In my opinion, I recommend doing everything that may be beneficial to survival of the fat cells! I've been performing Fat Grafting for about 20 years with excellent, consistent results.
Results from fat grafting can be somewhat variable. Even those surgeons who have a large experience with fat grafting report a short term re-absorption of the fat graft in the 30-40% range.The fat that does "take" however should last indefinitely. Other alternatives include the use of hyaluronic acid based fillers. These fillers have a very predictable short term result but are temporary - lasting 4-8 months depending upon type of filler and placement location.