If you are looking to restore a more youthful facial appearance, a surgical facelift or dermal fillers are not your only options, facial fat grafting can be just as effective. Facial fat grafting leaves the face feeling smooth and soft. But you may have seen a few postings on the internet from patients who say that their facial fat graft feels hard post-procedure, – is this normal?
Facial fat grafting
Facial fat grafting is a procedure in which your own fat is used to augment areas of the face that have suffered volume loss. It is a wonderful way to fill in hollow cheeks and a sagging jawline. The procedure is done in-office and takes about 1 ½ hour to complete.
Facial fat grafting offers patients a natural, less invasive option to surgery and it also costs less and has fewer risks. Best of all, the results are long-lasting, because although some fat is re-absorbed, the fat that survives is permanent.
Should facial fat grafts feel hard post-procedure?
After the facial fat graft, the face normally feels soft and supple, and there are not usually any hard areas. However, there have been cases in which there has been some firmness in the first 2 weeks, but this usually resolves when the swelling goes down. If the firmness remains after this time, there may be a complication that your plastic surgeon needs to investigate. As long as the fat grating is done using the right technique and there is no over-grafting, the results should be soft.