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Fat transfer, called also lipotransfer, fat graft, fat injection, lipofilling or lipomodelling, is a very popular cosmetic plastic surgery. As its name suggests, fat transfer surgery allows for taking the fat (adipose tissue) from the body parts where the fat is accumulated and transferring it to these areas which lack volume, shape or proportions. Such a body contouring can be performed on almost each body part, yet the most popular areas that are filled with fat are breasts, buttocks, face and hands. The areas that are usually “donors sites” from which the fat tissue is extracted are tummy, thighs (inner or outer) and hips.
Surgical fat transfer, as a body contouring surgery, has been performed since 1990s. Over years, it has been more and more popular and its great results has been greatly appreciated. Since decades, the methods of body fat transfer has developed, so now it is minimally invasive, safe, and highly effective procedure.
Fat transfer procedure gives great cosmetic, therapeutic and atnti-aging results.
What’s more, the liposuction fat transfer is used not only for cosmetic reasons – this procedure gives great therapeutic results for some deformities caused by trauma or diseases, or it helps in wound healing. It also belongs to highly effective anti-aging treatments.
Fat transfer is dedicated to people struggling with variety of problems, complexes and concerns regarding their body. It helps to get rid of excess fat or unwanted fat as well as give more volume, fullness and shape to other problematic areas. In details, fat transfer can solve the following concerns:
Fat transfer is dedicated to people struggling concerns regarding their body.
Fat transfer is a procedure consisting of three actions:
Below, we describe the most popular type of fat transfer procedure. The complete procedure involves liposuction and fat transfer, yet the following division is based on the recipient areas only. For each liposuction with fat transfer, patients may suggest or decide from which body parts the fat will be taken, so it is very individual.
Breasts are a popular body part involved in fat transfer procedure. Fat transfer to breast is regarded as one of breast augmentation procedures. It is called fat graft breast augmentation, breast fat transfer or fat transfer breast enlargement. This breast augmentation surgery can increase the size, change shape, fill the breasts and improve their symmetry in a desired way.
The great advantage of breast augmentation fat transfer is that it leaves minimal or even no scarring at all. Injecting fat into breasts requires making only tiny dots, so no long incisions are necessary. Also, breast fat transfer surgery is much safer than breast implants. Here, no devices are put into the body, and the fat which is injected is the natural filler, so the risk is significantly reduced. Sometimes, patients decide to get breast implant with fat transfer or breast lift and fat transfer. Such a combination could give significant results in lipomodelling breast. Lastly, we need to mention that fat breast transfer is not a 100% alternative to breast implants. Of course, fat transfer breast can increase the breasts size, but it cannot provide a dramatic change in breasts size. Breast augmentation with fat transfer is used mainly when women wish to maintain the natural look of their breasts.
Breast augmentation with fat transfer is used mainly when women wish to maintain the natural look of their breasts.
Facial fat graft involves taking the fat from a problematic body part and injecting it into the specific face areas. Face fat transfer is called micro-lipo-injection because the areas where the fat is injected are really small here. Fat transfer to face is an effective face wrinkle treatment, it also shapes chin, cheeks, or even mouth or nose areas. Thanks to fat injection in face, patients may define the jawline, enhance cheekbones, or change face contours. Patients may decide to combine fat transfer face (e.g. filler for face wrinkles) with eyelid surgery, neck lift or facelift.
The most popular parts involved in fat graft to face include:
Fat transfer to face is an effective face wrinkle treatment, it also shapes chin, cheeks, or even mouth or nose areas.
Fat transfer to butt (fat transfer buttocks augmentation) is a flag procedure associated with fat transfer. Buttocks are the most frequently chosen body part where the fat is injected. The popularity of this procedure (mainly fat transfer to the butt in which the fat is removed from tummy and waist) is so big that it has another name – Brazilian butt lift (known as fat transfer BBL, BBL or BBL surgery). Brazilian butt-lift surgery is treated as an individual surgery, yet it is nothing more than a regular butt fat transfer. In BBL fat transfer, the fat is removed from stomach / abdomen areas. Yet, we need to stress that fat transfer from stomach to buttocks is not the only combination. A transfer buttocks may involve taking the fat from other body parts, e.g. thighs, hips or arms. BBL fat transfer results in bigger, rounded, well-shaped buttocks.
BBL is the most common fat transfer procedure.
Hip fat transfer is a type of fat transfer to legs. It can be combined with fat transfer to thighs, fat transfer to calves, or even knee fat injection. In general, hips fat transfer aims at making round, shaped hips proportional to the whole body. It is common among women who wish to have an hourglass figure. Regarding entire legs fat transfer, it addresses irregularities and grooves and makes leg symmetrical.
Fat transfer to hands is popular for ageing people. It re-contours and smooths the hands. The main aim of this procedure is filling the hands with fat to cover the exposed veins and wrinkles. After the surgery, the hands are flatten and smooth.
Fat transfer penis is the most popular variation of fat transfer among men. In general, there are a few methods of penis enlargement, yet the penis fat transfer is the leading procedure. Thanks to fat injection penis can be increased as for the size and girth. The results cal last for a few years, so it is definitely worth considering. Penis fat transfer is also very safe procedure, without any side effects to penis function.
Labia fat transfer is dedicated to women looking for cosmetic surgery on the vagina. Here, injecting the fat into labia majora eliminates the wrinkles and flabbiness on the labia minora and labia majora. This procedure is commonly known as vulvar autologous fat transfer or vaginal fat injection. When it is performed together with labiaplasty, it may give results of so-called “Barbie vagina”.
“Barbie vagina”. is a type of procedure, when vaginal fat injection is performed together with labiaplasty.
First of all, a good candidate for surgery should fulfil 2 conditions:
In addition, as for any other surgery, patients need to be in good physical condition. Only good health enables applying general anaesthesia, so it is a prerequisite to the plastic surgery. Patients should also have realistic expectations towards the results that can be achieved, so it is a good idea to try setting realistic expectations together with a plastic surgeon who can assess the potential benefits of fat grafts. Finally, the final evaluation of candidate is always individual and specific criteria that are set depend on the type of fat transfer, e.g. candidates for BBL are assessed differently than candidates for hand fat transfer.
When patients are qualified for fat transfer and decide to get the surgery, they are usually given the pre reoperative instructions. These are mostly tips and recommendations as well as important aspects that patients must remember about. The most common guidelines before fat transfer include:
The most imortant thing before fat tansfer is to follow pre operative instructions, as well as organise your work and family life.
The fat transfer process is performed in 3 steps. They include:
Fat extraction / liposuction – fat extraction method may vary depending on the devices used by a clinic or surgeon. Here, the most popular fat extraction surgery types are vaser liposuction, body jet liposuction or tumescent liposuction. The methods differ from each other in a technique of separating and breaking the fat cells (e.g. body jet uses stream of water while vaser lipo uses ultrasound waves). Then, the liposuction cannula removes the fat deposit from a donor area – it may be stomach fat / abdominal fat, thighs fat, back fat, etc.
Fat processing – after removing the visceral adipose tissue, the fat cells are processed by centrifugation and decanting – the excess fluids, debris, or dead cells get separated, thanks to which only pure fat is obtained.
Fat injection – finally, the purified fat is injected into the problematic areas. It may be used for a great variety of reasons, e.g. breast augmentation surgery, shaping breasts, BBL, or facial rejuvenation. The amount of fat that is injected depends on the body part, and expected results.
For instance, the usual amount of fat that is injected can be as follows:
In the end, a few words about the anaesthesia type. There can be applied both local and general anaesthesia. The choice depends on the complexity and scope of the surgery. In minor fat volumes that are injected, local anaesthesia iss enough, but for large volumes (excedding 500cc) general anaesthesia or IV anaesthesia sedation needs to be used.
The fat transfer process is performed in 3 steps: fat extraction, fat procession, fat injection.
Fat transfer can provide great results fro both donor and recipient areas. In donor area, the excess fat accumulated in the specific body part is removed, so e.g. patients may get a flat tummy or slim thighs. In recipient area, the body parts get fuller, softer, contoured, defined, and rejuvenated. To give an example, fat transfer to breast results can give bigger, round, and symmetrical breasts and a slim waist.
Fat transfer can provide great results fro both donor and recipient areas.
The longevity of the surgery effects and survival of fat cells depends on such factors as method of fat harvesting and technique of its puryfying, surgeon’s experience and skills and the recipient area (where the fat is injected). It is normal that some fat is naturally absorbed by the body shortly after the surgery, so often surgeons inject more fat that is needed. The remaining fat tissue may stay for a lifetime. So, to some extent, the results of fat transfer are permanent. Yet, patients may notice fat absorbtion after a few or over a dozen years, which means that they might need additional fat transfer to maintain the results.
Recovery time for plastic surgery procedures takes only a few weeks. Generally, plastic surgery recovery time – including fat transfer recovery time – is regarded as short and simple. As for fat transfer, the specific time of recovery may differ depending on the areas involved in the procedure and anaesthesia ussed. So, e.g. fat transfer to buttocks recovery is usually longer than fat transfer to face, recovery time. Nonetheless, patients may expect the following:
Patients are given all important recovery and aftercare instructions before they are discharged from the hospital. In most cases, it is ok to leave the hospital a day after the procedure (sometimes, patients have drains to collect fluids but they still can leave the clinic). Patients should remember about organising transport as driving is not allowed yet. Patients should wear bandage for the first few days, and afterwards, they should wear compression garments for the donor and recipient areas. The time of wearing post surgery compression garments is indicated by the surgeon, but during the first week, they need to be worn all the time. Patients usually notice swelling and bruising – it gets the most intense during the first days after the procedure. It may also cause discomfort and pain. Here, pain medication / pain killers help. For swelling, patients are advised to use cold ice compress and do massages. Of course, patients should avoid stress, try to walk around as much as possible, follow post-operative diet, and get rest.
When patients reach day 7-10 in post-op recovery, the swelling and bruising is significantly reduced, also the pain should gone by this time. Most patients are getting back to normal, they are also allowed to return to work. If patients notice any residual discoloration, they can use cosmetics from that time. In week 2, patients usually attend a post-op appointment where a surgeon checks whether the healing goes properly and there aren’t any post-surgical complications. Sport is still not allowed, patients are recommended to take walks, but other activities should be postponed. Due to the fact that bruising is reduced, patients may observe first visible effects of the surgery, they usually have a positive attitude towards it, but they should remember that the final results are not visible yet.
Fat transfer recovery time depends on the surgery scope.
Patients are returning to normal, they mostly forget about the surgery. Bruising and swelling should decrease and the healing process reaches a safe phase. Patients stop wearing compression garments, or they need to wear it only for a few hours a day. Some patients get pain medication prescription from a surgeon to prevent infections. Patients may return to physical activity, yet it should be done gradually. Just lifting heavy objects is still not allowed. The surgery effects are becoming even more spectacular than in the last week.
The smooth recovery is greatly conditioned by patient’s post-op care. If the main post-operative instructions are followed, there should be no complications or side effects that are dangerous to health.
It’s always a good idea to list advantages and disadvantages of a considered plastic surgery – it helps in making the right decision. Below, we prepared the most important aspects of fat transfer – both positive and negative.
Patients need to realize that fat graft has also some disadvantages. It is good to know and analyse them before committing oneself to the procedure. The cons of lipofilling include:
As every plastic suregry, fat transfer has it own pros and cons.
Although plastic surgery risks and complications are usually minor, patients must always familiarize themselves with the problems they may face after the procedure. Clinics always require signing documents confirming being aware of post-surgical complications and plastic surgery risks, which is normal.
If patients are concerned about the plastic surgery risks and dangers, it is also a good idea to discuss all the potential side effects with a surgeon before the surgery.
If patients are concerned about the plastic surgery risks and dangers, it is also a good idea to discuss all the potential side effects with a surgeon before the surgery, e.g. during the consultation. The above list may sound really scary, but usually the serious complications do not happen, and the minor ones can be easily controlled by a patient or a surgeon. Also, the potential risks can be minimized when a fat transfer is performed by a skilled and experienced surgeon and when a patient follows a proper aftercare.
The question is really simple, yet the answer is far more complicated. Fat transfer cost always depends on 4 main factors:
So, as can be seen, there are various combinations and variants of fat transfer, so it is really hard to provide the specific price of fat transfer.
Regarding fat transfer cost UK, people mostly look for the following:
In addition, the following factors may influence the fat transfer pricing:
Before we move on to the details of fat transfer price UK (e.g. under eye fat transfer cost UK, fat transfer to face cost, fat transfer to breast cost, fat transfer lips cost, etc), let’s see whether this surgery can be funded by the NHS.
Fat transfer is a cosmetic procedure performed mainly for aesthetic reasons, hence NHS does not fund this surgery. NHS covers only treatments which are medically necessary and which aim at saving life and health of patients. Fat transfer obviously does not save our lives, but improves our appearance and attractiveness. So, patients who want to have round buttocks, bigger breasts or more youthful appearance should pay the full cost of the procedure.
However, when patients prove that fat transfer treats not cosmetic, but health problems, they may apply for NHS surgery. The most common reason of NHS funded fat graft is breast lipofilling for women after breast cancer or some trauma. So, in general fat transfer is not covered by the NHS, however when patients suffer deep mental health problems caused by their look or experience some trauma or accident, it is good to try this solution.
Fat transfer is a cosmetic procedure performed mainly for aesthetic reasons, hence NHS does not fund this surgery.
Knowing that fat transfer UK is usually not covered by the NHS, patients should be explained what to expect as for the fat transfer surgery UK price. Depending on the areas involved, patients may expect the following cost of lipomodelling UK:
So, we can generalize that fat transfer UK cost varies from 2000 GBP to 7200 GBP or more, where face fat transfer UK is the cheapest, while breast fat transfer UK seems to be the most expensive type of this procedure. It is also worth mentioning that the cost may vary between the cities. Fat transfer London is the most costly (there are the best clinics and the best fat transfer surgeons UK). On the other hand, fat transfer Birmingham UK or fat transfer Manchester are usually more affordable. Anyway, many people find fat graft UK really expensive, yet there is an alternative to costly facial fat graft London or fat transfer to breast UK – it’s getting the fat transfer surgery abroad.
Plastic surgery abroad is a cheap and highly-demanded alternative to getting a surgery in a home country. In some countries, plastic surgery abroad prices may be two or three times cheaper than in patients’ home places – it allows for huge savings even after calculating the trip expenses. What’s also important, patients can get secured for their medical trip, which makes their travel and stay abroad much safer. Clinic Hunter & AXA Partners have created a medical shield insurance for medical procedures abroad dedicated solely to medical tourists. The countries that are medical tourism leaders in Europe are Poland and Turkey – they offer great plastic surgery abroad packages, top healthcare standard, great surgeons, low prices and great touristic values.
Plastic surgery Poland is the most attractive offer in terms of surgery quality. It is widely known that Polish plastic surgeons are great specialists, world-class authorities who set an example to other nations. The top quality of surgeries performed by surgeons in Poland is confirmed by millions of plastic surgery Poland reviews given by international patients. At the same time, plastic surgery Poland prices are highly affordable. So, getting a procedure done by a top specialist at the low cost is a perfect combination for medical tourists. The cost of fat transfer in Poland starts from merely 900 GBP. The average cost of fat transfer to breasts is 1774 GBP, and BBL cost is 3000 GBP. It is all over twice as cheap as in the UK.
The main Polish cities, that are Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław and Gdańsk, have international airports, so travelling is fast, cheap and easy. Also, from the touristic point of view, Poland is a very attractive country with many places to visit in both summer and winter time. So, medical tourists can combine a plastic surgery with short city break, summer holidays by the sea, or winter holidays in the mountains.
The top quality of surgeries performed by surgeons in Poland is confirmed by millions of plastic surgery
Fat transfer in Turkey is a second great option who consider the surgery too expensive in their home country. Turkey is an absolute leader as for the low cost of medical procedures in Europe. Fat transfer to face cost Turkey starts from 500 GBP, fat transfer breast augmentation Turkey costs roughly 1600 GBP and BBL price is 2500 GBP. Turkey prices are the most competitive out of all European countries. What’s more, Turkish clinics offer all inclusive packages included in the cost of surgery. It means that patients bear no additional costs at all. The hotel, airport pick up, and all local transfers are already included in the price.
The most popular cities in Turkey for plastic surgery are Antalya, Izmir, Istanbul and Ankara. There are the best clinics and the most skilled, professional plastic surgeons. As for the surgery quality, there are high standard private hospitals, patients should just do a deep research before making the final decision and choosing the clinic. Turkey is also perfect place to visit – located on the verge of Europe and Asia, it is a mixture of cultures and traditions. Patients should reserve some time to get to know this colourful, culturally-rich country.
Fat transfer in Turkey is a second great option who consider the surgery too expensive in their home country.
Fat transfer UK reviews are very helpful in choosing the clinic and surgeon. We always advise our patients to check and verify all the available opinions regarding the considered surgery place. Often, the positive breast fat transfer reviews or positive fat transfer to face reviews assure patients about their decision, while other times, e.g. negative fat transfer to breast reviews may be a red light which makes people re-consider their decision about the clinic.
When a clinic has many unfavourable reviews, it is a clear warning sign that there’s something wrong with the clinic standard, attitude or service. On the Internet, there are many websites, like Google, Facebook, Instagram, many forum websites where patients share their experience and thoughts regarding fat transfer, so finding the requested opinions, e.g. fat transfer breast augmentation UK reviews, is very easy and this step of verifying the clinic should not be omitted.
Fat transfer before after photos are another great source of information about a surgeon’s skills. In fact, there’s no better way of assessing the surgeon’s expertise and competence than analysing his/her previous “works”. Lipomodelling before and after pictures show what scope of the changes a surgeon is able to achieve, what the incision sites look like, and what final effects can be expected. The great advantage of such photos is that they show real people – former patients who were operated by a particular specialist – so they’re the most reliable source of information.
Patients should never hesitate to ask the clinic or surgeons themselves to share the fat transfer photos, e.g.:
Also, more and more clinics share various fat injection before and after pictures on their websites or social media, as it is widely known that it is a great advertisement which can catch the interest of potential patients.
Fat transfer is a cosmetic surgery which involves taking the excessive fat from one body part (liposuction) and injecting it into another area which needs to be reshaped, filled, enlarged or smoothened. It is a very effective procedure which involves only minimal risk as the fat that is injected is the natural patient’s material, so no artificial or chemical substances are used. The most popular areas where fat transfer is used are breasts, buttocks, face, and penis. Also, the great side effect is removing the unwanted fat from e.g. tummy, thighs or hips – usually patients can choose where to take fat from.
Having many significant benefits, fat transfer can be really costly, so many patients cannot afford to get this procedure. It is also not available within the NHS. Yet, there’s an alternative to it – getting fat transfer abroad. Plastic surgery in Poland or Turkey are even 3 times cheaper than in the UK, Ireland, Germany or Norway. To get more information about cheap fat transfer abroad, contact Clinic Hunter. Our team helps each patient find the best, the most affordable and the top-quality clinic abroad and offers free help in organising the whole trip.
Plastic surgery in Poland or Turkey are even 3 times cheaper than in the UK, Ireland, Germany or Norway. To get more information about cheap fat transfer abroad, contact Clinic Hunter.
“Fat Transfer.” Fat Transfer and Fat Injection: Procedure Overview, https://www.smartbeautyguide.com/procedures/injectables/fat-transfer/#label-how-long-will-the-results-last.
“Fat Transfer: Fat Grafting: Lipofilling: Risk, Results and Procedure.” ISAPS, 2 Feb. 2021, https://www.isaps.org/procedures/body/fat-transfer-body/.
Groen, Jan-Willem, et al. “Autologous Fat Transfer for Facial Rejuvenation.” Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery – Global Open, vol. 5, no. 12, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1097/gox.0000000000001606.
Hanson, Summer E. “The Future of Fat Grafting.” Aesthetic Surgery Journal, vol. 41, no. Supplement_1, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1093/asj/sjab130.
NHS Choices, NHS, https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cosmetic-procedures/surgical-fat-transfer/.
Ricardo Rodriguez, MD. “Fat Grafting History and Applications.” American Society of Plastic Surgeons, American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 15 Dec. 2015, https://www.plasticsurgery.org/news/blog/fat-grafting-history-and-applications#:~:text=Fat%20grafting%2C%20also%20referred%20to,where%20the%20fat%20is%20injected.
Simonacci, Francesco, et al. “Procedure, Applications, and Outcomes of Autologous Fat Grafting.” Annals of Medicine and Surgery, vol. 20, 2017, pp. 49–60., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amsu.2017.06.059.
Klaudia started to work for Clinic Hunter many years ago, just after graduating from the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin in Poland and since that time, this job has become her biggest passion and inspiration.
She has gained necessary expertise and experience by serving patients from all over the world (mainly the UK, Scandinavian countries, and the USA), taking an active part in numerous live and video trainings with clinics in Poland, Hungary and Turkey, participating in international medical tourism conferences and events, and completing internal Clinic Hunter courses. Now, Klaudia is an accomplished patient advisor specialising in such fields as dentistry, plastic and bariatric surgery and hair loss treatment. Her main idea is helping people nad making their lives better, that is why this job brings her so much satisfaction and joy.
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