Risks & Potential Complications

Before deciding to proceed with surgery, every patient needs to thoroughly consider the risks, as well as the benefits, of the proposed procedure. During your pre-operative consultation(s), Dr Masters will openly discuss the risks with you so that you can consider them. A full listing of all the potential complications and risks of this procedure is beyond the scope of this website.

There are two broad groupings of surgical risks: those that pertain to surgery in general; and those specific to the procedure being performed.

Generalised surgical risks include:

  • Bleeding — usually occurs within the first 24-48 hours of the procedure and may require a return to the operating room. A quiet, restful post-operative period will help to avoid this problem.
  • Bruising – whenever possible, Dr Masters uses medications and techniques that help to avoid post-operative bruising.
  • Infection – surgical incisions, even though created in ideal circumstances, can become infected. When appropriate, antibiotics will be prescribed to lower this risk.
  • Unfavourable scarring – every surgical incision results in a scar. It is Dr Masters’ role to maximise the quality of your scars and, whenever possible, to hide them in natural skin creases.

Fat grafting, when performed using modern techniques by a fully qualified surgeon who has undergone comprehensive training in their field, should not result in significant complications. Surgery however, even fat grafting, should not to be undertaken lightly; complications can and do occur from time to time. These include:

  • Asymmetry – any right versus left asymmetry is usually within the normal levels present in people who have never had an operation.
  • Dimpling, rippling, ridges and divots ­ once again, with modern techniques using tumescent fluid and small cannula, these occurrences should be rare.
  • Sensory changes – as discussed above, there can be a period of time where the skin loses sensation. The norm is to have complete recovery of sensation after fat grafting.
  • Scarring – as the punctures are so small, troublesome scarring from the cannulas is rare.