4 Ways to Maximize Fat Survival After Fat Transfer

If you want a more natural method of enhancing and contouring your body, you may benefit from fat transfer. This process begins with liposuction to harvest excess fat cells from one area (such as the flanks or thighs). This fat is then prepared and reinjected into another area where you’d like to add volume (such as the breasts or buttocks).

Fat is an extremely delicate tissue. Dr. Zemmel uses the most gentle, atraumatic techniques to harvest via liposuction and reinject the fat. Despite these maneuvers, approximately 30% of fat transfer is reabsorbed over the first 6-12 months after surgery. The fat that does survive the transfer will remain permanently and will behave like any other fat in the body. It will respond to normal weight gain and loss as any other fatty tissue. In general, Dr. Zemmel advises patients to adopt the following habits during their recovery:

• Wear loose clothing: Aside from wearing the recommended compression garments, you should wear loose clothes. Tight-fitting clothes can lead to fat re-absorption.
• Don’t sleep on the treated area: Pressure on the area that received fat injections can cause unnecessary fat re-absorption. For natural breast augmentation, sleep on your back. For buttock augmentation, you should sleep facing down.
• Refrain from smoking: For newly injected fat to survive, it needs to connect to your blood supply, which provides it with oxygen and nutrients. Cigarettes limit your body’s ability to accomplish this.
• Eat a healthy diet: Consuming more nutrient-dense calories, such as with healthy fats, can help optimize your body’s long-term connection to the newly transferred fat.

While everyone will respond differently to fat transfer, and there’s no way to determine how long the grafted fat tissue will last, you can prolong your results by carefully follow the above guidelines, as well as your surgeon’s instructions.