Fat Grafting: A Little Everywhere
Good taste with clothing means that the items one wears are in harmony, possess style, cut well, and made of good material. Good cosmetic facial surgery is very similar. The products (materials) one uses can determine the outcome and certain fillers, e.g., fat, Restylane, and Juvederm, work better in certain parts of the face. Just like a suit that is “cut well”, a procedure must be executed technically well to look good. The final ingredient having harmony and having style are all about the artistic sensibility of the surgeon performing the procedure, and it is why one procedure no matter if the same steps are followed look completely differently when two different surgeons perform it.
When it comes to fat transfer, the art of harmony is to understand that aging occurs in a lot of little areas rather than one big one. Many times, individuals come to me with the desire to just have their lower eyelids rejuvenated or just to fix the tiny lines around their mouth. What they don’t see are the small temple hollow, the cheek hollow, the areas around the mouth and buccal area, etc. Besides wrinkles and some gravity, the key to understanding aging is the interplay of light and shadow and how much bone is exposed. When bone is adequately covered and there is a uniformity of light and an absence of telltale shadows then the face simply looks radiant and attractive. These little tiny changes are the key to make a face look natural, youthful, and attractive. The overfilling of one particular area is in fact the reason why results can look absolutely fake. A key area where I see this is in the cheek area. There is just too much filling in that one area and people simply look fake. Beautiful work is about filling a little bit in all the right areas to make the face look more youthful and bright. A little bit in all the right areas goes a long way
Sam M. Lam, MD, FACS is a board certified plastic surgeon in Dallas, Texas. To schedule a consultation please call 972.312.8105. To Learn more about Dr Lams’ fat transfer procedures Here or to ask Dr Lam a question please visit his face and hand rejuvenation forum.