Question: Thread lifts seemed so popular when they first came out but now you don’t hear much about them, at least not much that’s good. What’s changed?

Answer: I think what has changed is the fact that there have been countless numbers of patients who have had these thread lifts and now have noticed that the effects of the thread lift have essentially disappeared.  This can occur in a matter of months, not years, and this, therefore, frustrates patients who have spent literally thousands of dollars on a face lift that is so short lived.  Once the word got out that these thread lifts do not last very long, the majority of companies that actually made these threads ended up going out of business.  Fortunately, I saw this coming and when thread lifts were hot, I did not fall prey to the marketing and media frenzy and simply cautioned my patients that these thread lifts would most likely not last very long due to the fact that they are relying on a simple suture to lift and this will eventually pull through the tissue and have no significant long-lasting effect.  Overall, this continues to prove the old adage that if it appears too good to be true, it most likely is. 

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Question: Is it normal after getting fat transfer for the area to feel hard?

Answer: Depending on how long ago you had fat transfer, it is not unusual for areas to feel firm or hard, but this typically softens up significantly in the first two to three weeks of the treatment.  If you still have a firm or hard area after that time period, you may want to consider seeing your surgeon to make sure there is not a small fat granuloma forming that may benefit from an injection of a dilute steroid solution. 

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Question: I am having fat transplanted from my buttocks to my cheeks to smooth my facial contours. My doctor mentioned the use of plasma reclaimed from my own reserves as a means of enhancing my procedure. In your opinion, does PRP in fact increase the success of lipid transfer?

Answer: I really do not have enough scientific information to be able to answer your question definitely as I have really not seen a good study that compares standard fat transfer to the plasma-reclaimed fat transfer to determine whether in the human body you get a better success of fat survival. There are obviously a lot of different physicians performing experiments on fat transfer so, hopefully, in the future we will get a better idea of whether this is really something that is beneficial.

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Question: Is there a way to dissolve fat or remove fat from a fat transfer if I do not like the results?

Answer: Yes, fat from a fat transfer can be removed using micro-liposculpture or, if it is early on after the fat transfer meaning within the first six months or so, sometimes a very small incision and simply expressing some of the fat from that area can be adequate to relieve you of any fullness or bumpiness. It really depends on what area of the face is involved and how much fat is overcorrected as well as the timeline from the fat injection since we obviously expect too much volume in an area initially and over the first year or so this volume will diminish, hopefully, to a very aesthetically pleasing result.

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Question: My jaw was broken in an accident, when it healed the sides of my face looked uneven. Is there some kind of jaw or chin procedure that could fix this and would my insurance cover it?

Answer: I would have to personally examine you to try to determine exactly what the cause is for your facial asymmetry, but if this was due to a traumatic injury then more than likely your health insurance will pay for the treatment to restore your facial features back to the way they were prior to the traumatic event.

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