Dr. Sam Lam Plastic Surgery Forum

Hi Dr. Lam

I just had a quick question about fat grafting. Does the degree of initial swelling one experiences depend in part on how much fat they have to have transfered? Would someone who needs 50cc of fat transfered on average have more swelling than someone who has 25cc transfered? Or is there no difference and it is just the procedure itself and it depends on the person. Thanks for your time.

Yes, you got it. All things being controlled, i.e., the same surgeon is performing the procedure, the amount of fat transplanted is almost directly proportional to the degree of swelling that should occur minus a few small considerations:
1. the most distortion that occurs with fat transfer arises around the eye area so someone who requires more fat there would have proportionally more swelling.
2. at the end of the procedure my left over fat is either discarded or placed into the smile lines. that area causes less distortion so 2 cc extra around the eyes causes more distortion than 2 cc placed into the smile lines.
3. lip augmentation with fat causes ridiculous distortion for weeks to months. fortunately, i do not engage in that practice since it has variable longevity and really creates an unacceptable recovery time.
4. if other procedures are combined like facelift, traditional eyelid surgery, plasma skin resurfacing, the time under anesthesia and added procedures will cause additional swelling.
4. all variables being equal, one cannot absolutely predict swelling since postoperative activity, salt intake, age, genetics, smoking, etc. can create differences in recovery.
best,
sml