How do I prepare for a fat transfer procedure?
Your surgeon will provide thorough preoperative instructions, answer any questions you may have before your surgery, take a detailed medical history, and perform a physical exam to determine your fitness for surgery.
In advance of your procedure, your surgeon may ask you to:
- Stop smoking before undergoing surgery to promote better healing.
- Avoid taking aspirin, certain anti-inflammatory drugs, and some herbal medications that can cause increased bleeding.
- Hydrate before and after surgery for safe recovery.
Fat transfer is usually an outpatient procedure. You will need to arrange for someone to drive you home after surgery and stay with you for at least the first 24 hours following surgery.
What can I expect the day of my fat transfer procedure?
Be sure to consult with your surgeon before your surgery so you have the most accurate expectations.
- You may have your fat grafting procedure in an accredited hospital, free-standing ambulatory facility, or office-based surgical suite.
- The length of your procedure depends on how much fat is removed and the number of liposuction sites. It will take less time for a facial fat transfer than fat grafting to your body. Your surgeon will give you an estimate for how long your surgery will last.
- The surgeon will administer medications for your comfort during the procedure.
- You will likely receive local anesthesia combined with intravenous sedation, but in some cases, general anesthesia is desirable.
- For your safety during the surgery, various monitors will be used to check your heart, blood pressure, pulse, and the amount of oxygen circulating in your blood.
- Your surgeon will follow the surgical plan discussed with you before surgery. Once surgery has begun, the surgeon may decide to combine various techniques or change a technique to ensure the best result. It is important that you feel comfortable and trust your surgeon to make these decisions.
- After your surgery, you will go to a recovery area for continued monitoring.
- You will most likely be wearing a compression garment to help “shrink” the skin. Many patients state that the area feels sore as if they underwent a vigorous workout.
- You also may have drainage tubes. Before leaving for home, you (or someone looking after you) should feel capable of emptying and resetting the drains.
You likely can go home after a short observation period unless you and your aesthetic plastic surgeon agree on an overnight stay or have made other plans for your immediate postoperative recovery.