Malathi, a 35 year old house wife was otherwise fit and fine. But she was bothered about the deep scar over her left cheek. She suffered with a condition called lupus panniculitis due to which, the subcutaneous fat in her left cheek got absorbed leaving a hollowed out appearance. Due to this deformity, she would refrain from attending weddings and social functions and remained confined to her household duties. But a brief consultation, allowed her to overcome this deformity easily with minimal downtime by undergoing a procedure called fat grafting.
Fat is usually considered an unwanted part of out body and many of us just want to get rid of it. But this store of fat in our body when used judiciously can work wonders in enhancing certain areas of our body and correcting contour abnormalities.
The technique of harvesting fat from one's own body and using it to enhance or correct some other part of the body is called fat grafting. This technique has been known to the plastic surgeons since decades, however newer technologies and refined techniques have made this much more predictable allowing wide range of applications in recent times.
Fat actually, is the closest to the ideal filler because it is readily available, easily obtainable, with low donor-site morbidity, repeatable, inexpensive, versatile and biocompatible.
Fat can be used to correct contour deformities on the face due to accidental injuries, improve the appearance of scars and also for facial rejuvenation. Fat can be used to improve the appearance of lines and wrinkles over the forearms and hands. As opposed to use of fillers, this is a permanent procedure and need not be repeated every 2 years.
Large volume fat grafting can be used for enhancing breasts or buttocks, while at the same time slimming the waist and thighs to give an hour-glass appearance.
The technique involves harvesting of fat from the body, commonly the lower abdomen and medial thighs as they are rich in adipose-derived stem cells. The fat is then allowed to sediment and is centrifuged to allow separation of fluid and oil from the extract. This pure fat is injected in a specialised technique in the desired areas with the help of tiny cannulae.
Virtually no scars and no stitches are involved in this technique, so recovery is quick and hospital stay is minimal. Most procedures can be performed on an outpatient basis.
Post procedure, swelling in the operated area is expected, but it usually subsides within a week. The patient can resume his regular work in a couple of days to a weeks' time depending on the amount of fat grafting done.
Some amount of fat usually resorbs after the procedure and a stable result is obtained at the end of 6 months. At this point if the patient desires, another procedure of fat grafting can be performed. However, most of the times, patients are satisfied by the result at the end of first procedure. With the use of activated Growth Factor Concentrate, which is obtained from the patient's own blood after processing it, we can further enhance the viability of our fat grafts.
Complications like bleeding at surgical site, necrosis of the fat grafts or infection at the surgical site can occur, but they are usually self-limiting.
A paradigm shift is taking place in plastic surgery, with lesser and lesser use of foreign materials in the body and more use of autologous tissue to achieve natural results. Thus Fat with its unique regenerative potential holds great promise in future and is indeed 'trending' in the medical field.
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