Fat grafting, also known as fat transfer or autologous fat transfer, is a cosmetic procedure offered at Mountain Lake Plastic Surgery that uses your own fat to enhance shape, restore volume, and improve body contours. This technique allows us to remove excess fat from one area of the body and carefully transfer it to another area that needs volume or refinement. Because it uses your own tissue, fat grafting offers natural-looking results with a low risk of reaction.
Fat grafting can be a stand-alone procedure or can be used to enhance or supplement other body contouring procedures.
Am I a Candidate?
You may be a good candidate for fat grafting body procedures if you are in good overall health, do not smoke, and have realistic expectations about what the procedure can achieve. Ideal patients typically want to improve body shape, restore lost volume, or refine contours using their own fat cells instead of implants or synthetic fillers. A key requirement is having enough fat available in donor areas such as the abdomen, thighs, flanks, or hips so that excess fat can be safely harvested and transferred.
Many patients seek fat grafting to reshape hip contour (“hip dips”) improve breast size or support breast augmentation and breast reconstruction or restore volume to areas of the face or body that have lost fullness or developed indentations due to trauma or previous surgery. Candidates should also understand that results vary and a portion of the transferred fat may be reabsorbed by the body, which is why maintaining realistic expectations is important. If there is not enough excess fat available, a plastic surgeon may recommend alternative plastic surgery or cosmetic procedures to achieve the desired outcome. Please note that at Mountain Lake Plastic Surgery we do not offer “BBL” or fat graft to enhance buttock size and projection, due to the concerning safety profile of this procedure.
How is Body Fat Grafting Done?
The fat grafting procedure is an outpatient procedure that typically uses general anesthesia or local anesthesia with sedation, depending on the treatment areas and the amount of fat being transferred. The process begins with liposuction, where excess fat is removed from donor areas such as the abdomen, thighs, or flanks using a thin tube (cannula). This step is performed to preserve fat cell viability and minimize trauma to surrounding tissue.
Once the fat is collected, it is processed and purified to isolate healthy fat cells and remove unwanted fluids or damaged material, ensuring only viable fat tissue is used for transfer. The purified fat is then injected into the targeted area using small syringes, allowing the plastic surgeon to sculpt and enhance body shape with precision. This may include the “hip dips”, the breasts for augmentation or reconstruction, or other areas that require added volume. The success of the fat transfer procedure depends on the transferred fat establishing a reliable blood supply in the new location so it can survive long-term and integrate naturally into the surrounding tissue.
What is Recovery Like?
Recovery after fat grafting surgery varies depending on how much fat is removed and where it is transferred, but most patients can expect swelling, bruising, and mild to moderate discomfort in both the donor and treated areas. The donor area is often more sore than where the fat graft is placed. A compression garment is typically worn to support healing, reduce swelling, and help the skin conform to its new body shape.
Most patients can return to light, regular activities within one to two weeks, although this depends on individual healing and the extent of the procedure. Strenuous exercise and pressure on treated areas should be avoided for several weeks to protect the transferred fat cells and allow them to properly establish a blood supply. Over time, swelling gradually improves, and the body begins to reveal more refined contours as the fat stabilizes. Some of the transferred fat may be naturally reabsorbed during the healing process, while the remaining fat cells integrate into the tissue for long-lasting, natural-looking results.
Request a Consultation
Whether you are considering reshaping your hip contour, filling in indents caused by previous surgery or trauma, or enhancing breast fullness, Dr. MacLennan and the team at Mountain Lake Plastic Surgery will create a personalized plan tailored to your goals and anatomy. Schedule a consultation today to learn whether fat-grafting procedures are right for you and what results you can realistically expect.
