Can a Fat Transfer be Reversed? Examining What to Do About a Bad Procedure

A fat transfer, also known as gat grafting or fat injection, is a cosmetic procedure that involves harvesting the body's fat tissue and restoring volume in other areas of the body.

Typical areas of treatment are the breasts, face, hips, hands, and buttocks. Areas of the body where fat is harvested can commonly include the stomach, thighs, back, and arms. The only requirement is that the patient has enough excess fat to be collected.

Fat transfers to the face or hands require much less material. Thus, smaller body parts can be donor sites for these procedures.

As fat grafting uses your fat, it's safer and longer-lasting than synthetic fillers or implants. It also has the benefit of producing results that look and feel more natural than other procedures.

Regardless of the treatment area, it's essential that you choose an experienced cosmetic or plastic surgeon. Patients who opt for less experienced surgeons can suffer unwanted consequences such as uneven and asymmetrical results.

Keep reading to discover how fat transfers can go wrong and how a qualified surgeon can reverse these mistakes.

Why Would I Need A Fat Transfer Reversal?

Patients can require fat transfer revision surgery for several reasons. One of the most common is unsatisfactory results due to a surgeon's mistake. 

For example, adding too much, not enough, or uneven volume to the target areas can result in an unnatural appearance or a lumpy look. Because the body naturally reabsorbs fat after the transfer, experienced surgeons know to add a bit more material than is needed to provide desired results.

Fat necrosis is another possible undesired result of a fat transfer procedure gone wrong. Such an outcome can result in hard bumps forming on the enhanced area.

Facial fat grafting procedures can also produce a rare outcome known as "Hamster Syndrome." This side effect occurs due to fat hypertrophy after the transfer and can result in a swollen facial appearance.

Beyond fat transfers, augmentation procedures using synthetic, non-organic materials like implants often require revision surgery if the body rejects the implant. If not inserted into the treatment site correctly, implants can be visible through the skin, which is undesirable to most patients. 

Similarly, facial filler treatments can go awry due to an imprecise injection or migration of the injected material. Even if done correctly, facial filler results degrade with time, which can also result in an undesired outcome.

Generally speaking, if you're a victim of a poorly-applied fat transfer, implant, or synthetic filler, you may need to undergo revision surgery to obtain a more natural, favorable result.

What Can a Fat Transfer Revision Specifically Resolve?

A fat transfer revision addresses uneven or unnatural results, bumps, lumps, implant dissolution, and asymmetry.

One popular and precise way to revise a botched fat transfer is at AirSculpt. This next-generation provider of body contouring specializes in correcting problems caused by a botched fat transfer.

Although they do not remove implants, those who received an implant revision can achieve their preferred look after excising them. If a fat transfer to the face goes badly, our surgeons can delicately remove or transfer fat to restore your desired look.

The innovative AirSculpt approach allows surgeons to move fat with cell-by-cell precision. As a result, this minimally invasive fat transfer reversal allows patients to get the results they've always deserved while enhancing comfort and reducing risks. This technique uses no scalpels or stitches, and patients always avoid risky general anesthesia with this wide-awake revision treatment.

Why Choose Corrective AirSculpt®?

At AirSculpt, all procedures should be accurate and comfortable for all patients. We developed this patented procedure to help you get the body you've always deserved while awake without worrying about long recovery times, general anesthesia, or noticeable scarring.

Corrective AirSculpt® uses a proprietary cannula to remove and transfer fat around your body, restoring your curves and contours to their optimal state, as they should have been after your first surgery. Whether it's a botched fat transfer, liposuction, or injection, our skilled surgeons' extensive experience in fat transfer procedures minimizes the risk of complications.

For more information on how we can help you achieve your desired result, visit our Washington, D.C. office or the body sculpting clinic nearest you for your free consultation.