This century-old procedure was refined and updated by dermasurgeons in the 1980s. Micro lipoinjection is a form of soft tissue augmentation that uses a patient's own fat (removed from another part of the patient's body) as a filler substance to "plump up" and contour wrinkles, furrows and hollows in the face. Donor fat is taken with a small cannula or sterile tube from troublesome fatty deposits such as buttocks or thighs, and then re-injected into the areas to be filled. Since one's own tissue is used, there is little risk of the body's rejecting it, which can occur when a foreign substance is used.
Sometimes referred to as fat transfer, this technique helps eliminate the hills and valleys associated with the aging face, as well as improve depressions resulting from injury, surgery, or certain type of scarring. Common conditions that can be treated are smile and frown lines. It is also a wonderful complement to cosmetic resurfacing procedures, liposuction of the neck and jowls and botulinum toxin injections.
For more information on skin conditions and treatments, along with a list of ASDS members in your state, please visit the Find a Dermasurgeon section of our Web site.