The Procedure

Unlike traditional liposuction, when harvesting fat for use as a grafts, great care is taken to minimise the trauma sustained by the fat cells and hence maintain their viability. A solution containing local anaesthetic and adrenaline is injected into the donor site to help limit bleeding. The fat is gently harvested by sucking it into syringes using specially designed cannula; it is then centrifuged to separate the viable cells from the nonviable cells and debris. The purified fat is then ready for injection.

The key to a successful fat graft is to only use high-quality viable fat cells and to inject them gently and very small discrete pockets. A special range of injection cannulas has been designed to allow the fat cells to be deposited into their recipient bed in the most atraumatically possible manner.

The recipient site is not over treated, rather the expectation is to achieve almost 100% take of the fat injected, and thus there is no need for over treatment. Depending on the particular location of the injections, it may be necessary to plan for two or more series of fat injections.

All of the harvesting and injecting incision sites are placed in the most discreet areas possible, preferably in creases where available, and are usually no more than 2 mm long.

Where is the Procedure Performed?

Depending on the number of areas to be treated and if there are other procedures also being performed, the procedure may be scheduled for either a full operating theatre under general anaesthetic or more usually under local anaesthetic in Dr Masters rooms.