Fat Is No Longer The Enemy

Fat-grafting has become an invaluable asset to plastic surgeons today. Its wide-ranging uses and benefits are still being discovered. Surgeons are utilizing a patient’s own fat to complement nearly all procedures both plastic and reconstructive.

By Brad Calobrace, MD
and Chris Knisley
ThePlasticSurgeryChannel.com

Friendly Fat

Unwanted or unnecessary fat from one area of the body is re-appropriated to another, bringing with it a return of natural volume. The use of a patient’s own fat replaces the need for synthetic or foreign fillers. This assures the fortitude and longevity of the outcome.

Additionally, fat is rich with stem cells. The presence of stem cells can allow for natural growth and healing to occur – something that you won’t see with the use of synthetics.

The Face

“I use fat-grafting in almost every facial procedure I do, whether it be eyelids or face lifts,” says The Plastic Surgery Channel’s own Dr. Bradley Calobrace of Kentucky.

Instead of resorting to a face lift, where cutting is involved, Dr. Calobrace recognizes that a patient “could look much younger by reducing fine lines of wrinkles and areas of depression and hollowness by adding a little bit of fat.”

Small volumes of fat are used in many areas of the face to create a comprehensive final result. He says that it is subtlety that makes the real difference.

Breasts & Buttocks

Dr. Calobrace often uses fat as a complement to breast implants and/or lifts. The added presence of fat can contribute to a smaller implant or a lift with greater fullness.

The buttocks is another area in which Dr. Calobrace has used fat to achieve great results, especially in light of the rise in popularity of the Brazilian Butt Lift.

Instead of tightening and lifting as a response to a loss in volume, a little liposuction can provide the fat that will bring about a return to youthful fullness.

Location, Location, Location

Dr. Calobrace acknowledges the preciousness of fat and is always thinking ahead. “I never take fat away from any area of a patient’s body without considering if I need that fat somewhere.”

He always consults patients with the possibilities that fat offers. A patient receiving liposuction could end up with more volume in their buttocks or breasts. A patient interested in treating facial aging could end up removing love handles.

Fat removal and injection is all based on the desired result, and, to Dr. Calobrace, that result is achieved through the careful contouring of the body’s curves.

“Fat’s not the enemy anymore. It’s sort of a good thing. We just want it in the right places.”