Face fat transfer
We fill hollow areas of the face with fat taken from your own body and carefully purified.
LINE ONFacial Fat Transfer
When the face loses fat and hollows form, shadows can make you look worn out. Filling just one area can actually look unnatural. So we look at how the forehead, temples and cheeks work together before deciding where to fill.
If any of these apply to you, please mention it first at your consultation.
LINE ONFacial Fat Transfer
Point 1. Facial structure
With age, facial bone is resorbed and shrinks, and the deep fat also decreases. As a result, a face that was an inverted triangle in youth becomes closer to a triangle. So rather than focusing on the one spot you notice, we first look at which of the areas that support the face have weakened.
LINE ONFacial Fat Transfer
Point 2. Purification
When the harvested fat is centrifuged (spun quickly to separate it by weight), it separates into blood, pure fat and an oil layer. We filter out the oil and blood and transfer only the pure fat.
LINE ONFacial Fat Transfer
Point 3. How fat takes
Transferred fat settles only when new blood vessels grow into it from the surrounding tissue. This is called “taking.” So instead of packing fat into one spot, we add small amounts spread across several layers. Fat that doesn’t take is absorbed by the body, so depending on the volume you want, a second transfer may be needed.
LINE ONFacial Fat Transfer
Areas we examine
The aim isn’t to make your face bigger. We set an order and fill the areas that lack volume first.
Before deciding how much to add, we check how much fat can reasonably be harvested. If there isn’t enough, we’ll tell you that filler may suit you better.
Filler gives a more predictable result and can be dissolved. You can also start with filler and add fat transfer if you’d like more volume.
LINE ONFacial Fat Transfer
How it works
We look at the hollow areas and the fat available to harvest.
We check your medications and any past filler or fat transfer.
We mark the areas to fill, the order, and where fat will be harvested.
We’ll explain the anesthesia options after your examination.
We harvest fat and filter it, keeping only the pure fat.
We add the fat in several layers and balance both sides.
We close the harvest sites and schedule your follow-up visits.
Medical note
Facial Fat Transfer in detail
From here, we explain how the surgery works, recovery and what to watch for in more detail. It’s written to the standards Dr. Oh uses when he sees patients.
Both fill hollow areas, but they use different materials and processes. Neither is simply better, so we choose based on your face and what you’d like.
How the fat is harvested and filtered, where and how deep it’s placed, and how much goes into one spot all affect how well it takes. The condition of the surrounding tissue and the recovery process also play a part. How much is absorbed varies by person and by area.
Fat is generally harvested from areas with a fair amount of fat under the skin, such as the abdomen or thighs. Some is lost during filtering, so we harvest a little more than we plan to transfer.
The harvest site also needs small incisions. It may ache, like sore muscles, for 1–2 weeks, and bruising mostly fades within 2 weeks.
01
Filling only the lips or the front of the cheeks may look good in a close-up photo. But seen as a whole face, that one area can stand out and look unnatural. So we set the order of filling, starting with the supporting areas that have weakened.
02
If your face has very little volume, 3 mL of filler may not be quite enough. In that case, you can start with filler and then add more filler or add facial fat transfer. We’ll decide together which suits you after your examination.
When we don’t recommend it
Incisions at the harvest site are kept small and placed where they’re hard to see. The entry points where the cannula (the thin tube used to remove fat) goes in and out are protected with Protect, a skin protector we developed ourselves. The inner layer of the skin is stitched first, then the surface is stitched with as little tension on the skin as possible to reduce scarring.
Results and recovery vary from person to person. Whether a treatment suits you is decided after Dr. Oh examines you in person.
As long as you don’t lose weight, you can expect fat that has taken to stay largely as it is, just like the rest of your own fat. Transferred fat is still your own body fat, so if you lose a lot of weight, the volume in the treated areas can also decrease. Your face keeps changing with age, so over time other areas may lose volume.
The face needs much less fat than the body, so slim people can often have it. We check how much fat can be harvested first, at your examination.
If too much fat goes into one spot or gathers in a shallow layer, it can form lumps or make the surface look uneven. Early in recovery, swelling can also make things look uneven, so we follow up to see whether it settles over time.
Yes. After examining where the remaining volume is, how much there is and which areas lack volume, we’ll explain how much can be filled or corrected. Everyone has limits, so we can only give you a precise answer after an examination.
Faces vary too much from person to person to fit a single formula. I look at your face to see where structural support is lacking, then set priorities within the fixed amount of filler.
Yes. With age, facial bone is resorbed, the deep fat under the skin decreases, the skin loses elasticity and the shallow fat sags, and the muscles weaken. Together, these turn the “inverted triangle” of a young face, fuller at the cheeks and narrower at the jaw, into a triangle.
As long as you don’t lose weight, you can expect fat that has taken to stay largely as it is, just like the rest of your own fat.
When harvested fat is spun in a centrifuge, it separates into blood, pure fat and a layer of oil. Only the pure fat is transferred, so how cleanly the oil layer is separated out matters a great deal.
Yes. I believe whether a treatment is technically possible and whether it’s worth doing for that person are two completely different questions.
We are a 3-minute walk from Gangnam Station Exit 11, and the medical director examines every patient in person.