Syringes of Fat
Photo © Millicent Odunze, M.D., M.P.H.
In the United States, billions of dollars have gone into trying to get rid of excess fat. Liposuction, diets, diet pills, running, jogging, stairmaster, treadmill, elliptical machine, weightlifting, etc. have all been part of this battle of the bulge.
However, you should know that there are a lot of wonderful things that can be done with fat! Now, I'm not condoning obesity or being overweight - it'll eventually wreak havoc on a person. I'm just putting it out there that in some cases, fat can actually be useful...and not just for those in cold weather climates.
In the realm of plastic surgery, fat can be used in many different ways. For reconstruction purposes, it can be used as a fat graft to fill defects that are caused by trauma or that are congenital in nature. For cosmetic purposes, fat can be used to enhance breasts, lips, cheeks, buttocks and reduce the signs of aging in the face and hands.
So just how is fat transferred from one area of your body to another? Get a step-by-step account of the procedure here.
Great article for patients that are considering fat transfers. I have similar articles on my blog at http://www.drkim.com/category/fat-grafting/