The use of autologous fatty tissue as a filler to smooth out wrinkles has the great advantage that no preparation that is foreign to the patient’s body is used.
As in liposuction, the fat tissue is harvested and collected in a filter system in order for it to be prepared and then introduced into the areas of tissue to be filled during the same surgical operation. This procedure can usually be carried out under local anaesthetic and as an out-patient.
Lipofilling with autologous fat is particularly suitable for the correction of deep wrinkles (e.g. nasolabial folds). However, sunken cheeks, the lack of a fat relief on the back of the hands, defects in connective tissue or sunken operation scars can be filled with autologous fat.
Whereas other filling materials are broken down with time, a large proportion of the injected fat tissue becomes attached at the injection site and remains there permanently. However, as some of the fatty tissue injected is absorbed by the body, subsequent correction with a repeat injection of autologous fat is required to achieve the optimum aesthetic result, which is then permanent.
Harvesting and injecting the fatty tissue must be carried out under sterile surgical conditions and is therefore significantly more complicated then the injection of hyaluronic acid or Botox, for example.