Collagen Replacement

Maintaining facial volume is one of the keys to keeping a young, fresh appearance.  Since facial fat naturally migrates as we age, one way to restore the look of youth is to put the fat back where it once was.  This would typically entail filling nasolabial folds and marionette lines, plumping up sagging cheeks and thinning lips.  The substance used to fill the depleted areas can be a synthetic compound like Restylane, or the patient’s own natural fat, which has been shown in some tests to last longer than synthetic collagens.  Fat Transer is a process in which the fat is removed from unwanted areas by microlipsuction (jowls, love handles, thighs, buttocks) and then injected into the depleted facial areas. Micoliposuction is a safe surgical procedure performed under local anesthesia in our fully accredited surgery suite.  (See Microliposuction.)  During the same procedure, the removed fat can be injected where desired.  Or, it can be frozen and saved for future use. 

Fat transfer is ideal for patients undergoing microliposuction procedures, as the fat can be injected during the same session in the surgery suite. Microlipo is about refinement, not volume, and its purpose is to improve body shape and contour.  Microlipo combined with fat transfer or soft-tissue fillers can effectively do the job of a ‘mini-lift’, the surgery designed to rejuvenate the lower half of the face.  Restoring lost volume is one of the most effective and immediate anti-aging techniques, and there is evidence that the patient’s own natural fat lasts longer than synthetics and also builds up over time, so that fewer touch-up injections are required.