Fat transfer to the hands is a very popular procedure amongst my patients. Whenever my patients are undergoing fat grafting to their faces, either as a standalone procedure or in combination with a deep plane face and neck lift, I always assess their hands. We lose volume in our hands, just like we do in our faces and in the rest of our bodies. As we age, the natural fat layer in our hands begins to deteriorate, leading to a bony or “veiny” appearance. Because the hands are often exposed to the elements without protection, the hands tend to be one of the first areas to show the signs of aging.
While injectable fillers are effective for restoring lost volume in areas of the face, my patients have enjoyed the benefits of #FatTransfer to the hands for its longterm results. Fat transfer is an appealing option to inject into the hands because part of the fat that is injected will actually stay permanently and the fat actually is surrounded by stem cells, so it improves the skin quality and can really make the hands appear more youthful and vibrant.
Whether in surgery or under local anesthesia in the clinic, we first begin by manually harvesting the desired amount of fat tissue. Then we purify the tissue with PureGraft micro-filtration system to remove any impurities. In order to have a smoother appearance of the fat and to avoid any lumpiness and clumpiness, we always mix the fat with platelet-rich fibrin, or PRF. The PRF growth factors will aide in ensuring precise placement as well as increasing the survivability of the fat tissue that will be injected, as fat transfer generally has a ’take-rate’ or retention of 50% of what is injected. PRF-enriched Fat Transfer procedure can replenish age-related fat loss, helping restore a smoother, softer, & more youthful appearance.
