Are the results of lipofilling similar to those of aesthetic medicine injections?

What is lipofilling in aesthetic medicine?

Lipofilling is an aesthetic medicine technique based on transferring fat from one area of the body to another. Its main aim is to restore the volumes lost with age, but it can also fill wrinkles and dark circles. Lipofilling uses autologous fat, taken from the patient’s own body. The injections improve skin quality, particularly when lipofilling is combined with a facelift or with blepharoplasty to rejuvenate the eyes.

There are several types of lipofilling, depending on the quality and quantity of fat injected. Nanolipofilling, for example, regenerates the skin tissue using stem cells and growth factors.

Lipofilling is performed under local or general anaesthetic, depending on the indication, the area treated and the volume injected. The results are natural and long-lasting.

For eye rejuvenation, the fat is reinjected into the upper and lower eyelids. This is often accompanied by a resection of excess skin, in order to fill the area under the eyes and restore the volumes that have melted away between the eyelids and the orbital bone.

When is lipofilling recommended?

The first consultation is the essential step in confirming the indication and determining the areas to be filled by lipofilling. The treatment is therefore fully personalised according to the patient’s expectations and to what is possible.

Lipofilling may be indicated in several situations:

• facial rejuvenation, with restoration of the volumes lost over time, especially in the temples, cheekbones and cheeks;
• filling wrinkles (nasolabial folds, around the mouth, crow’s feet) and hollow dark circles, by injecting fat under the skin to obtain smoother, plumper skin;
• improving skin quality with nanolipofilling;
• ; correcting dark circles by thickening the dermis, which reduces the effect of blood vessels showing through;
• eye rejuvenation, when combined with a facelift or a blepharoplasty.

Are the results of lipofilling the same as those of hyaluronic acid injections?

Although the two techniques share the same aims, namely rejuvenating the face by filling furrows and restoring lost volume, they do not give the same results.

Because lipofilling uses the patient’s own fat, this technique is more natural and carries less risk of rejection or allergy than hyaluronic acid injections.

Lipofilling also gives lasting results. Hyaluronic acid, by contrast, is a resorbable product that is gradually eliminated by the body. Filler injections therefore have to be repeated regularly if the effect is to be maintained, which can mean a higher cost in the long run.

Hyaluronic acid gives more hydrated, plumper skin. Lipofilling improves skin quality over the long term, thanks to the regeneration of the skin tissue.

Finally, dark circles can only be treated effectively with lipofilling. Injecting hyaluronic acid into the dark circles is not recommended, as puffiness or swelling may develop and the product is not absorbed in this area of the face.

Lipofilling is, however, a more substantial procedure, since it requires a local or general anaesthetic. Injections, on the other hand, are given at the practice, without anaesthetic, and the after-effects are lighter.