Body Procedure 06 · Fat Transfer
Take volume from where you do not want it and place it where you do. No implants, no synthetic filler — your own tissue, permanently integrated where it survives.
Board-Certified Surgeons
DHA-licensed surgical facility
Your Own Tissue
No implant and no rejection risk
Layered Grafting
Fine passes placed to maximise fat survival
Donor Area Contoured
Two improvements from one operation
In Short
Fat transfer, also called fat grafting or lipofilling, harvests fat from one area of your body by liposuction, purifies it, and injects it into another area to restore volume. Because the material is your own tissue, there is no rejection risk and no implant. Typically 50 to 70 percent of transferred fat survives permanently; the remainder is reabsorbed over the first three months, which is why surgeons deliberately over-correct at the time of grafting.
The Procedure
Fat transfer is a three-stage operation performed in one sitting. Fat is harvested by gentle liposuction from a donor area — usually the abdomen, flanks or thighs. It is then purified to separate viable fat cells from blood, oil and anaesthetic fluid. Finally it is injected in fine layers into the area being augmented.
The single most important variable is how much of the transferred fat survives. Grafted fat has no blood supply of its own at first and must establish one from the surrounding tissue, which is why it is placed in many fine passes rather than in one large deposit — every parcel of fat needs to be close enough to living tissue to be fed. Typically 50 to 70 percent survives permanently.
That survival rate is why an experienced surgeon deliberately over-corrects at the time of surgery. The result immediately after the operation is intentionally fuller than the one you will end up with, and it settles over the first three months as the unsurvived portion is reabsorbed. What remains at three months is permanent.
Techniques & Options
01
Restores volume lost through ageing in the cheeks, temples, tear troughs, jawline and lips, addressing the hollowing that ageing causes rather than only the lines. Because it is your own tissue, the result moves and ages naturally with your face.
02
Provides a modest, entirely natural increase in breast volume without implants, and is also used to improve contour irregularities or add softness over an existing implant. The increase achievable is smaller than with implants, which is the honest trade-off.
03
Corrects contour irregularities, fills depressions from previous surgery or injury, and restores volume to hands where ageing has made tendons and veins prominent.
Candidacy
01
The donor area is chosen for fat quality and for the contouring benefit its removal provides — most patients gain a second improvement from the harvest itself.
02
Fat is removed with fine cannulas at low negative pressure. Aggressive harvesting damages fat cells and reduces how much of the graft survives.
03
The harvested fat is centrifuged or filtered to remove blood, oil and fluid, concentrating viable fat cells for grafting.
04
Fat is placed in many fine passes across multiple tissue depths rather than in single deposits, maximising contact with the blood supply that will keep it alive.
05
The area is intentionally over-filled to allow for the portion that will be reabsorbed. You should expect to look fuller than your target immediately after surgery.
06
Volume settles over three months. Final volume is assessed then, and a top-up session is planned if additional volume is wanted.
Techniques Compared
| Fat Transfer | Implants | Dermal Filler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Material | Your own tissue | Silicone or saline | Hyaluronic acid gel |
| Permanence | Permanent portion that survives | Long-term, replaceable | 6–18 months |
| Volume achievable | Moderate | Large and precise | Small |
| Predictability | Variable — 50–70% survival | Highly predictable | Predictable |
| Rejection risk | None | Capsular contracture possible | Very low |
| Donor area benefit | Yes — contouring included | No | No |
| Downtime | 5–10 days | 1–2 weeks | 1–2 days |
| Repeat sessions | Sometimes needed | Rarely | Regularly |
The Honest View
Fat transfer is less predictable than implants because survival varies between 50 and 70 percent, and a second session is sometimes needed to reach the target volume. Risks include infection, fat necrosis, oil cyst formation and contour irregularity, and significant weight change will alter the transferred fat just as it does the rest of your body. Very lean patients may not have enough donor fat. Your surgeon will discuss all of this and set realistic volume expectations at consultation.
Recovery
Days 1–3
Swelling and bruising at both donor and recipient sites. The grafted area looks noticeably over-full — this is intentional.
Days 5–10
Bruising fades and most patients return to work. Pressure on the grafted area is still avoided.
Weeks 2–4
Swelling subsides substantially and the shape begins to look natural.
Months 1–3
The unsurvived portion of the graft is reabsorbed. Volume decreases from the immediate post-operative appearance.
Month 3
Volume is stable. This is when final volume is assessed and any top-up session is planned.
Months 3–6
Donor area contour finalises and the grafted volume is settled and permanent.
Google Reviews
Very friendly and professional.
— Alireza Mahmoudian, Verified Google Review
Typically 50 to 70 percent, depending on the recipient area, harvesting and processing technique, and your own healing. This is why surgeons deliberately over-correct at the time of grafting, and why the fullness you see immediately afterwards is not your final result.
The portion that survives and establishes a blood supply — assessed at around three months — is permanent and behaves like the tissue around it. It will, however, change with significant weight gain or loss, exactly as your body's other fat does.
It can provide a modest, entirely natural increase without any implant, which suits patients wanting a subtle change. It cannot achieve the volume increase an implant provides, and that is the honest trade-off to weigh at consultation.
Sometimes. Because survival is variable, patients seeking greater volume often plan a second session at three to six months, once the first graft has stabilised. Your surgeon will tell you at consultation whether one session is realistic for your goal.
Usually the abdomen, flanks or thighs, chosen for fat quality and for the contouring benefit that removing it provides. Most patients regard the donor area improvement as a genuine second benefit rather than an incidental one.
Possibly. Very lean patients may not have enough donor fat to harvest for a meaningful result, and there is no way around that limitation. Your surgeon will assess available donor volume directly at consultation and tell you honestly if it is insufficient.
It typically looks and behaves more naturally than filler, because it is your own tissue and moves with your face rather than sitting within it. The main variable is volume predictability, not naturalness.
A free consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon: your available donor fat assessed directly, the survival rate explained plainly, and an honest conversation about what one session can achieve.