Facial Fat Grafting in Seoul

🧬 What is Facial Fat Grafting

• Facial fat grafting (also called “autologous fat transfer” or “fat injection”) is a procedure where your own fat is taken from one area of your body (commonly abdomen, thighs, or hips) — using gentle liposuction — and then purified and injected into facial areas that have lost volume or need contouring.
• Because it uses your own tissue, fat grafting tends to look more natural and integrate more smoothly than synthetic fillers.
• Fat grafting is used both for aesthetic rejuvenation of aging faces (where fat and volume are lost) and for facial contouring (enhancing cheeks, temples, under-eyes, chin, etc.).

✅ What Facial Fat Grafting Can Help With — Common Goals in Seoul

Fat grafting is often chosen when people want:

• Restoration of lost volume (sunken cheeks, hollow temples, under-eye hollows, flat midface) to regain fullness and youthfulness.
• Softening of deep lines or folds (nasolabial folds, smile lines), since added fat can fill the gaps and smooth wrinkles.
• Improved facial contours and balance — e.g. more defined cheeks, smoother transitions between facial zones, better overall face shape without implants or synthetic material.
• Natural, long-lasting (or semi-permanent) improvement compared with fillers which gradually dissolve.
• Use of biocompatible material (your own fat) minimizing risks of allergy or foreign-body reaction compared to artificial fillers.

Because of these advantages, many people opt for fat grafting rather than synthetic fillers — especially if they want a natural result or have multiple facial areas needing volume.

🔄 How the Procedure Works (Typical Process in Seoul)

1. Donor Fat Harvesting — Fat is gently taken from a donor area (usually abdomen, hips, thighs) via liposuction, using micro-cannulas to minimize trauma and improve fat survival.
2. Purification of Fat — The harvested fat is processed (centrifuged or otherwise purified) to separate viable fat cells from fluid, blood, and impurities.
3. Injection / Grafting — The purified fat is injected into targeted areas of the face (cheeks, temples, under-eyes, chin, nasolabial folds, etc), often in multiple small layers and planes to maximize fat survival and natural contouring.
4. Recovery & Engraftment — Some fat cells survive and integrate, becoming part of your normal facial tissue. Over months, the grafted fat “settles,” and final volume becomes more stable.

Because the fat is your own tissue, the graft tends to behave like native fat — it can respond somewhat to weight changes or aging, making results more natural over time.

🎯 Who Is a Good Candidate — and Who Should Be Cautious

Good candidates often:

• Experience age-related volume loss: hollow cheeks, under-eye hollowness, flat temples, depleted midface
• Want a natural, soft, three-dimensional facial contour rather than a “filled” look
• Prefer to avoid synthetic fillers or implants
• Have enough donor fat (abdomen, thighs, etc.) for harvesting
• Have realistic expectations: fat grafting enhances volume but does not change bone structure

Consider the following carefully:

• Because some of the transferred fat may be absorbed (i.e., not all survives), surgeons sometimes “overfill” slightly to compensate.
• Final result stability depends a lot on the technique — how gently the fat is harvested, how carefully it’s purified, and how skillfully it's injected.
• If too much fat is injected at once, or injected improperly, there is risk of unevenness, lumps, or fat resorption issues.
• Because it involves fat harvesting, there is also donor-site recovery (though done gently, so usually minimal scarring).

⏳ What to Expect: Recovery, Results & Longevity

• Procedure time: Typically 1–2 hours, under sedation or local anesthesia depending on donor area and volume.
• Recovery: Mild swelling or bruising is common for a short period. Because fat is transferred from another area, donor-site care may also be needed.
• Initial result: You’ll see volume and contour improvements fairly soon after swelling subsides.
• Final result: After a few months (once graft stabilizes), the fat that survives tends to remain — many patients enjoy long-term or semi-permanent results, because the fat becomes part of their facial tissue.
• Maintenance: Because transferred fat behaves like natural fat, results age somewhat with you (i.e. if you lose or gain weight). But compared to fillers, there’s usually less need for frequent “touch-ups.”

✅ Main Advantages Compared With Fillers or Implants

• Uses autologous fat (your own tissue), reducing risk of rejection or allergy.
• Often more natural-looking than synthetic fillers — softness, texture, integration with surrounding tissue.
• Potential longer-lasting or semi-permanent results compared with fillers that dissolve over months.
• Can address multiple concerns at once: volume loss, contouring, hollows, fine lines — providing face-wide rejuvenation with a single procedure.

⚠️ Limitations & What Fat Grafting Cannot Do

• Fat grafting cannot change bone structure — if your goal is to reshape bone contours (e.g. widen or narrow jaw, change chin shape drastically), fat grafting alone won’t achieve that.
• Some of the transferred fat may be absorbed over time — results may vary, and “perfect retention” isn’t guaranteed.
• Because of dependency on donor-site fat, if you’re very lean, there may be insufficient fat to harvest.
• Results are somewhat dependent on your own aging, weight changes, lifestyle — fat behaves like regular tissue.