How Is Fat Transfer Done?

By Millicent Odunze, M.D., About.com Guide

Updated September 25, 2011

About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by the Medical Review Board

A surgical marker is used to outline the area from which the fat will be harvested (removed). Even if the amount of fat to be harvested is small, it should be harvested in a way that will not leave an asymmetry (one side of the body looks different from the other). The areas in which the fat will be injected are also marked. Examples of potential sites for fat transplantation include cheeks, lips, temples, nasolabial folds, liposuction deformities, breasts, and the back of the hands.

Previous

• The harvest site(s) and the injection site(s) are marked prior to surgery.
• Anesthesia is administered.
• The harvest site and the fat injection site are prepped for surgery.
• The incisions are made.
• Tumescent fluid is injected.
• The fat is harvested.
• The fat is transferred into syringes.
• The fat is injected into the recipient site.
• The incisions are closed.

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