The Details About Fat Transfer
It's common for patients in consultation at our Los Gatos and Palo Alto plastic surgery offices to ask us how to eliminate fat in their thighs, love handles, belly and upper back. Often, these same patients wish to plump up other areas where they lack fat, such as the face, breasts, hands or buttocks. Fat transfer is a great solution for most of those patients! Depending on your goals, it might be right for you as well!

The Benefits Of Fat Transfer
Fat transfer is a natural filler. Your own fat, removed by liposuction from those areas where you have "extra," is purified to use as filler for the face, hands, breasts, and buttocks. This method is particularly popular for women seeking a more beautiful bum, because fat injections create a fuller derriere with a shorter recovery time than buttock implants, and fat transfer is much more comfortable during recovery than implants. Our patients who want a younger facial appearance but don't want Botox or other dermal fillers prefer fat transfers.

The biggest perk of all is the fact that patients are not only plumping or smoothing out parts of their bodies, but gaining more sculpted figures. The combination of removing fat from one part of the body and adding fat to another part can create a sexy silhouette in no time.

We Have Fat Transfer Technology!
Though there are many liposuction methods, the newest techniques allow fat to be harvested especially for fat transfer, as the fat is in better condition for the fat transfer procedure. in my Palo Alto and Los Gatos plastic surgery offices, I perform several techniques, such as VASER® liposelection, smartlipo™, and Body-Jet® liposuction, which are perfect for patients wanting a fat transfer.

How Is Fat Transfer Performed?
Body-Jet® Liposuction uses saline fluids to dislodge fat for its removal. Because the fat is already loosened, its removal is much easier than a standard liposuction treatment that can cause trauma to the fat cells.

Why Wait?
Our California plastic surgery practice has the tools to give you an improved silhouette in time for the winter holiday parties, trips and events! Contact us today for a consultation to see if fat transfer is the right procedure for you!

Over the years many different liposuction techniques have been created. Some plastic surgery practices, such as mine in San Jose and Palo Alto, offer more than one technique to suit the needs of each patient. My practice happens to offer four different liposuction techniques. A common question from many of my patients is "What's the difference between them all?" Well, you won't have to ask any longer.

Tumescent Liposuction: This is the traditional liposuction procedure. The patient is injected with a tumescent solution to inhibit discomfort, inhibit bleeding and saturate the fat that is about to be sucked out. A tube, called a cannula, is then used to suction out the fatty areas through tiny incisions. Because tumescent lipo can be rough on the body sometimes, other liposuction techniques may be used alongside this technique as well.

SmartLipo™: The same tumescent fluid is injected into the patient. However, this time a small laser is inserted inside the cannula as well. The laser actually melts the targeted fat, which makes it easier for removal. There is less back and forth needed with the cannula, which allows for less bruising. The laser also has the ability to seal blood vessels on site, which allows for less bleeding, and encourages the production of collagen growth, which allows for the skin to tighten around the post-op areas.

VASER® LipoSelection®: Much like SmartLipo™, tumescent solution is once again injected into the areas that are undergoing the procedure. The patient in this case is also under IV sedation or general anesthesia. Prior to sucking out fat, the VASER device is inserted through the incisions to give off ultrasonic waves that liquefy the fat. A cannula is then used to easily remove the fat.


Body-Jet® Liposuction: This procedure does not use tumescent solution, but a spray of fluid to loosen fat cells from specific areas. As always, the loosened fat cells are then removed with a cannula. However, this particular procedure is actually perfect for those patients undergoing a fat transfer procedure. Body-Jet® is great at harvesting the most intact fat, so that a Brazilian butt lift or lip augmentation will be highly successful. This technique is not usually used just as a liposuction procedure.

The more liposuction techniques there are, the more likely there will be the best technique, or combination of several of them, for each patient's needs and comfort level. Each liposuction procedure has been proven to give patients better silhouettes! The best way to find out which technique will work for you is to talk closely with Dr. Hoffman, our local Palo Alto and Los Gatos board certified plastic surgeon, about your body goals. You'll soon be on your way to a better body, like so many patients before you.

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