Dr. Sam Lam Plastic Surgery Forum

Hi Dr Lam

I am on the thin side. How much extra fat do you need to be able to harvest some for the grafting? If I am too thin would I be able to put some weight on for it?

Thanks

as far as thinness. someone can be too thin for me to harvest fat. i would have to see your donor areas to make that decision. i don't like people putting on weight because you will lose that fat once you lose weight anyway, plus that is not healthy.

I've lost a lot of weight due to stress so if i just put it on to be healthy would that be ok? When you say you would lose the fat if you lost weight, do you mean it would leave my face?

thanks

Fat injected is a live graft. It will behave like your fat in your body. If you are really thin now it would not be unwise to fill your face because when you return to your normal weight you may appear overcorrected. I need to graft someone who is relatively stable in their weight within 20 pounds or so of fluctuation, preferably 10 pounds. I would highly recommend you return to your "normal" weight and observe that for 6 months before contemplating fat grafting.