Fat Transfer to the Hands
Fat transfer to the hands is performed at Los Angeles Plastic Surgery to make the hands appear younger. The hands, especially the dorsum (top side) of the hands experience volume loss with age. The loss of fat and connective tissue and the resultant skin laxity that ensues, give the hands an aged appearance that cannot be hidden.
Fat transfer to the hands is an effective procedure that helps restore the youthfulness of the hands.
Fat transfer to the hands can be done as an isolated operation or in combination with other liposuction and fat transfer procedures.
My patients typically will undergo liposuction of multiple areas of the body such as abdomen, flanks, back, thighs, pubis, calves etc. Then the fat will be collected, purified and injected or grafted into areas of interest. Typical areas of fat transfer are the buttocks, the hips, the hands, the face, vaginal areas and the breasts.
Fat transfer to the hands is performed through minimal incisions that are 1-2mm in length. Thus they heal so well that an actual scar may not be visible.
My technique for fat transfer to the hands includes multiple small injections between the metacarpal bones as a first pass. The second pass of fat grafting is directly under the skin and over the veins in order to cover them and not have the dorsal veins of the hand be visible. This is a very delicate procedure because great care must be taken in order to not penetrate any of the dorsal veins of the hand because this could cause fat emboli. Fat emboli could cause serious post-operative systemic complications. The final grafting stage I employ is over the knuckles to improve their wrinkly appearance.
Fat transfer to the hands may require more than one session to accomplish the required aesthetic results. The reason for this is that there is a safety limit of how much fat can be transferred each time. Furthermore some of the fat after transfer may shrink or resolve over time. Fat shrinkage or resorption always occurs to a variable degree after any fat transfer procedure anywhere in the body. About 60% of fat transfer volume originally grafted will be present after 9 months.