This 58 year-old Virginia Beach woman is very active and healthy. She expressed interest in a face lift procedure because she felt that the aging of her face did not reflect her youthful lifestyle. However, in this particular case, a facelift would not address her most significant sign of aging, which was hollowing due to natural fat loss. Together we discussed a surgical plan to fill the hollowed areas, using her own body fat harvested from her saddle bags and flanks. We carefully injected this harvested fat into her orbital rims, medial cheeks, submalar areas, nasolabial areas, marionette lines and beneath the corners of the mouth. During the first 4 months following surgery some of the fat may be re-absorbed by the body, but the patient was very pleased with her result at her 4 month follow-up. We did not take her “after” photos at this visit because she had gained 8 pounds, which would have made her photos unreliable. At her next visit, 3 months later, she was back down to her original weight. This was when we took her “after” photos, which give a much better idea of what can be accomplished with fat grafting alone, and are a good indication that her results will last many years. Additionally, her second set of photos were taken without a flash, to emphasizes the shadows on her face. This makes it easier to see the difference in the 3D contours of her face from one photo to the next, and highlights her fat grafting results. This case emphasizes the importance of a customized surgical plan, and demonstrates that not every patient will get the most benefit from a facelift alone.
Surgeon: Dr. Thomas Hubbard
Case Number: 502
