With age, the face can lose its youthful volume, leading to hollow cheeks, deep folds, and a tired appearance. Facial fat transfer restores this lost fullness by harvesting fat from your own body and injecting it into key areas like the cheeks, temples, and under-eyes. The result is a natural, long-lasting rejuvenation that softens contours and revitalizes your look—using your body’s own tissue.
Medically Reviewed by Dr Colin Tham
Consultant Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon
MB ChB (Aberdeen), FRCS (Ireland), FAMS
Facial fat transfer is beneficial for patients who have insufficient volume causing sunken temples or cheeks. It is also useful for patients who desire “apple cheeks” or more fullness in their foreheads.
The fat is usually harvested from the thighs or tummy area as fat from these areas gives the best results.
The results from fat transfer are definitely more durable than most commercial fillers. However, the injected fat will still behave like normal body fat; decreasing in volume when you lose weight or vice versa.
I harvest the fat with fine cannulae. This yields ~1mm diameter particles of fat which we term Micrografts. With such a small fat particle size, the result is smooth and fat survival maximised.
It is possible to select the smallest particles from the harvested fat. These we term Nanografts. Nanografts are particularly useful for the rejuvenation of ageing skin. Nanografts have also been used extensively in the treatment of scars, burns or other forms of injured skin.
Depending on the extent of transfer, the cosmetic procedure usually takes between thirty minutes to two hours.
Most of our patients return to work within seven to ten days.
Consultant Plastic & Cosmetic Surgeon MB ChB (Aberdeen), FRCS (Ireland), FAMS
Dr Colin Tham is an experienced plastic surgeon skilled in all types of cosmetic and reconstructive procedures, as well as non-surgical rejuvenation. He is accredited by the Ministry of Health in Singapore and has over 20 years of experience in the field. Dr Tham received extensive plastic surgery training in Scotland, Taiwan, and Singapore; and is committed to providing beautiful and natural-looking outcomes for all his patients.