The Aging Face: Part 1 – Volume Replacement

Sagging skin and loss of facial volume often characterize the aging face. The most obvious loss of volume appears under the eye gulley, called the nasojugal groove. The nasojugal groove starts in the medial eyelid region and extends down the cheek parallel to the nasolabial fold or “laugh lines.” In fact, as the face loses volume over time, the excess skin will droop, creating deep nasolabial folds or lines. Patients also greatly dislike this common facial aging sign. Today, experts consider filling the nasojugal groove via fat grafting as a more effective means of improving overall facial aging rather than attempting to stent the nasolabial fold with fillers.

What is Facial Fat Grafting?

Facial fat grafting (also known as fat transfer or stem cell grafting) is a procedure that uses a patient’s own fat to rejuvenate or augment certain areas of the face. Your surgeon will harvest fat from a donor site such as the abdomen, waist, inner thighs, or knees utilizing a small syringe or cannula. Your own fat, which includes stem cells, fills grooves and deep wrinkles, thereby replacing facial volume and lifting the skin. The fat is harvested via small pokes, less than 3mm each. The patient remains under a local anesthetic solution, and the entire procedure is completed within 15 minutes. The fat volume injected will be slightly overfilled, at first. The overfilling compensates for a 40% loss of volume observed 6 months following the procedure.

The great news for you is:

poke holes less than 3mm cause no scarring.
the procedure achieves an improved youthful facial appearance.
it is a quick, non-surgical procedure with minimal downtime.
it is a very affordable option since the procedure avoids general anesthesia and facility fees.
there is a permanent correction in facial volume (unlike temporary filler results).