What is lipofilling?

Lipofilling, or lipostructure, is a method of filling or filling volumes using the patient’s own fat taken from another location, most often the knee or abdomen.

By using fat as a filler, the surgeon can restore volumes lost through aging, for example, or create structures to give new shapes or curves.

Developed in the USA in 1980, this method can be applied to any anatomical region, such as the buttocks, breasts (cosmetic or reconstructive surgery), hands or face.

Facial lipofilling can restore a youthful look to a face or eyes, because it works in two ways:

• It creates volume as a filler, without a volumizing effect;
• It has a trophic action on the skin, as fat is rich in stem cells (vascular stromal fraction). This is also the principle behind nano-lipofilling, which relies on the dermis’ regenerative and remodelling properties, enabling wrinkles to be smoothed out very naturally…

Dr. Hayot’s objective for all facial lipofilling procedures is to achieve a natural rejuvenation effect that is both clean and discreet, in the sense that there should be no guesswork involved in his technical gesture. When injecting fat, the practitioner’s art is not to create new volumes, but to restore old volumes that have melted away. This is what guarantees a natural look.

Lipostructure is therefore ideal for rapidly rejuvenating the face, restoring a rested appearance and a toned, radiant look.

The benefits of facial lipofilling

This minimally invasive method has two major advantages.

Facial lipofilling, a natural, no-rejection method

• Facial lipostructure is an injection of a natural autologous product, meaning that the donor and recipient are the same person. There is therefore no risk of rejection, and tolerance is maximized.
• The fat removed undergoes no chemical treatment: it is simply rinsed and filtered, to make it more fluid and enable perfect remodeling of the tissues.
• This fat injection also brings back stem cells from your body, which will be stimulated, activating your natural rejuvenation and dermal tissue remodeling capacities.

Lipostructure of the face, a permanent and definitive remodelling

Unlike hyaluronic acid injections, where the product is resorbable, usually over a year, lipostructure is definitive once the graft has been taken. The result is more natural, as the fat is incorporated into the tissues and fills them, whereas an injected hyaluronic acid will take on water, swelling to a greater or lesser extent, while remaining in the place where it was injected without incorporating into the tissues.

Once fat has set in, it is permanently fixed: volumes will vary in the same way as other facial fatty tissues, particularly in the event of weight gain or slimming. So you need to pay close attention to your lifestyle.

Complementary procedures to lipofilling

Lipostructure of the face makes it possible to recreate volumes, either constitutively absent or acquired (trauma, ageing), treat all wrinkles and regenerate skin quality.

Medical Profiloplasty

Lipofilling can be used to create new volumes, such as for the chin (chin too short or retrogenic) or the mandibular angle (jaw line contouring). It is a method for virilizing the lower part of a man’s face, or for affirming insufficiently defined contours, thus giving a more purposeful appearance.

Each time, Dr Hayot checks whether the aesthetic defects to be corrected are compatible with lipofilling, to ensure a natural, aesthetic result.

Filling of static facial wrinkles

Lipofilling can be used to treat most facial wrinkles.

Lipofilling of the nasolabial folds, mouth contours, crow’s feet or frown lines offers a natural, lasting and often spectacular result.

Using very fine cannulas, micro-lipofilling perfectly covers these wrinkles, where the skin is very thin and the injection of hyaluronic acid is delicate. It’s also the solution of choice for the neck, décolleté and hands.

Facial rejuvenation is guaranteed, with harmonious, natural results.

Addition blepharoplasty or facelift

Lipofilling is the technique of choice for restoring fatty volumes that have melted with age, for example to fill in the temples, cheeks, cheekbones, etc. It is a method for treating the oval of the face, with a clear rejuvenating effect, while respecting natural contours.

A specialist in eye rejuvenation, Dr Hayot also recommends this additional blepharoplasty to treat hollow circles: in this very thin-skinned area, the hyaluronic acid injection risks being visible, with granulomas or a Tyndall effect.

However, a precise technical procedure is required, and the fat must be treated by filtration, to obtain a natural result with truly rejuvenated eyes.

In fact, lipostructure is so effective that sometimes the entire area has to be treated at the same time, so as not to miss out on the ageing of the tissues! Dr. Hayot will then tell you whether or not you need a facelift or associated blepharoplasty to rejuvenate your eyelids.

The limits of facial lipofilling

It’s important to understand that this fatty tissue will then live on like the rest of your body fat, as adipocytes can be loaded with fat up to 50 times their initial volume. A fat injection is a definitive implant, but it does not stop the aging process or weight gain. Some of this fat may melt away naturally over the years. Conversely, significant weight gain after lipofilling could alter the aesthetic result, which is why a healthy lifestyle is essential.