Atlanta
Fat Grafting To The Hands

Fat Grafting To The Hands Before & Afters

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Fat Grafting To The Hands in Atlanta, GA

The hands are one of the first areas to show an individual’s age. This makes sense considering that the hands sustain damage every day from exposure to ultraviolet rays, wind, rain and cold weather. In addition, the skin on the hands is relatively thin and there is very little fat present. This thinner skin and absence of fat results in wrinkle development as well as highly visible tendons and veins. Since the effectiveness of hand creams for preventing and addressing the signs of aging is lacking, many people are choosing to rejuvenate the appearance of their hands using their own fat (aka autologous fat). Today plastic surgeons in Atlanta can use an individual’s own fat to rejuvenate his or her hands.

Atlanta Plastic Surgeons Rejuvenate the Hands Using the Patients Own Fat Cells

Surgeons harvest fat from one area of the body and then prepare it for injection into the back of the patient’s hands.

From Which Areas of the Body Does Dr. Miotto Harvest the Fat for Hand Rejuvenation Procedures?

The most common areas Dr. Gabriele C. Miotto uses for fat harvesting include the hips, abdomen, buttocks and the inner or outer thighs.

How Much Fat Does Dr. Miotto Need for Rejuvenating the Hands?

Using manual liposuction, she harvests anywhere from 5 ml to 180 ml of fat.

Which Lasts Longer for Hand Rejuvenation: Dermal Fillers or Autologous Fat?

Upon injection, a dermal filler (e.g., Restylane Lyft and Radiesse) immediately adds volume to the hand. This additional volume smooths the back of the hand, minimizing the visibility of the wrinkles, the tendons and the veins just beneath the skin. Although dermal fillers can successfully address the signs of aging in the hands, the results are relatively short-lived (from six to 16 months).

Patients who choose to have their own fat injected into their hands to reduce the signs of aging enjoy longer-lasting results. After a hand rejuvenation procedure using the patient’s fat cells, he or she enjoys smoother, more youthful-looking hands. The results of a hand rejuvenation procedure using autologous fat last from five to 10 years. For some patients, the results last indefinitely.

How Much Change Can a Patient Expect at the Areas Dr. Miotto Uses for Harvesting?

While harvesting the fat for transfer into the hands, Dr. Miotto gently contours the donor area, but most patients would benefit from additional fat removal.

Patients who would like to have additional fat removal can choose to have a traditional liposuction procedure at the same time as their autologous fat hand rejuvenation session.

Will All the Fat Dr. Miotto Transfers Survive?

Atlanta plastic surgeon and expert injector Dr. Gabriele C. Miotto knows that some of the fat cells she transfers will neglect to develop a blood supply; therefore, these cells will not survive. For this reason, Dr. Miotto injects slightly more fat cells than necessary.

An Ideal Candidate for Hand Rejuvenation in Atlanta

The ideal candidate is someone who does not smoke or use any other product that contains nicotine. If an individual does smoke or use nicotine-containing products, he or she must agree to stop smoking or discontinue using products that contain nicotine for a specific amount of time before and after a hand rejuvenation using autologous fat. He or she must be in good health and want more youthful-looking hands.

Aesthetic issues a hand rejuvenation session with autologous fat transfer can address:

• Highly visible tendons and veins.
• Thin skin.
• Wrinkles.

Is There Anyone Who is Not Considered a Good Candidate for Hand Rejuvenation in Atlanta?

Yes, there are people who are not considered good candidates for a procedure to rejuvenate their hands using autologous fat.

Poor candidates for hand rejuvenation with harvested fat include those who:

• Use products that contain nicotine and are unwilling to discontinue using these products for at least four weeks before and after their autologous fat hand rejuvenation treatment in Atlanta.
• Have unrealistic goals, expecting an outcome that cannot be achieved with an autologous fat hand rejuvenation treatment session.
• Are pregnant or breastfeeding.
• Have a bleeding disorder (e.g., hemophilia).

The Plastic Surgeon, Expert Injector’s Technique Matters

Since fat cells are extremely fragile, to attain the best results possible, the plastic surgeon’s fat removal, preparation and injection technique must be excellent. Dr. Gabriele C. Miotto is a highly experienced plastic surgeon and expert injector. She rejuvenates her patient’s hands using their own harvested fat.

A Consultation in Atlanta for Hand Rejuvenation with Autologous Fat

Patients need to provide Dr. Miotto with information related to their previous surgical procedures, medical treatments and chronic health conditions (e.g., cardiac disease). In addition, she needs to know about the patient’s medication or latex allergies.

Dr. Gabriele C. Miotto examines the patient’s hands during this consultation. She may also want to view potential donor areas (e.g., hips, abdomen).

If Dr. Miotto determines that the patient is a good candidate for a hand rejuvenation treatment using autologous fat, she may take photos of the patient’s hands. Dr. Gabriele C. Miotto may use these pictures while creating the patient’s custom-tailored hand rejuvenation treatment plan. In addition, these photos allow the patient and the surgeon to clearly see the changes following a hand rejuvenation procedure.

Patients who are interested in other procedures may want to mention this to Dr. Miotto during their initial consultation because she performs some procedures during the same surgical session. For example, Dr. Gabriele C. Miotto can perform a facial fat transfer and hand rejuvenation treatment using autologous fat during the same session.

Preparing for a Hand Rejuvenation Session in Atlanta

Fat injections into the hands can cause a patient to experience bruising; these bruises usually develop at the injection sites. Patients can reduce the likelihood of developing bruises by discontinuing the use of medications and supplements that are known to thin the blood for at least a week before they have their fat grafting treatment session for hand rejuvenation. That said, patients who take medications prescribed by their doctor that thin the blood must continue taking these medications until they speak with the prescribing physician and receive the okay to stop taking the medication for a week before their hand rejuvenation treatment.

Over-the-Counter medications and supplements to avoid include aspirin, ibuprofen, NSAIDs, vitamin E and fish oil. In the event that the patient needs to take a pain reliever within the week of surgery, he or she can take non-aspirin (aka Tylenol or acetaminophen).

Patients who are having fat grafting to their hands for a special event must keep in mind the possibility of bruising and schedule their sessions accordingly.

How Long Does an Atlanta Hand Rejuvenation Session Using Autologous Fat Take?

A hand rejuvenation procedure using fat cells takes about an hour.

Is a Hand Rejuvenation Using Autologous Fat an Outpatient Procedure?

Yes, a hand rejuvenation session with autologous fat is performed on an outpatient basis, which means the patient returns home after the procedure.

What Type of Anesthesia Does a Patient Receive During a Hand Rejuvenation Procedure in Atlanta?

Typically, since the surgeon harvests fat from the patient’s body before preparing and transferring it, patients receive IV sedation with local anesthesia (aka twilight anesthesia) or general anesthesia.

Patients Must Bring Someone to Drive Them Home After Their Fat Grafting Session

Since patients will receive some type of anesthesia during their Atlanta hand rejuvenation session using autologous fat, they are not permitted to drive after their procedure. Therefore, patients bring themselves a driver. Those who do not, will be rescheduled.

In addition, the use of public or any type of for-hire transportation is forbidden following a procedure in which the patient receives anesthesia.

Why Are Patients Forbidden From Using For-Hire or Public Transportation After a Hand Rejuvenation Session in Atlanta?

Following anesthesia patients are more vulnerable than they are otherwise. For this reason, Dr. Gabriele Miotto wants to protect her patients. One of the ways she accomplishes this is by making sure they are not taken advantage of by a transportation service on their way home.

Patients Need a Caregiver for the Initial 24 Hours After Their Hand Rejuvenation in Atlanta

Since patients receive anesthesia, Dr. Miotto requests that they ask someone they trust to be their caregiver for the 24 hours following their hand rejuvenation with autologous fat in Atlanta.

How Does Dr. Miotto Remove the Fat for Grafting the Hands?

Due to the fat cells’ fragility, Dr. Gabriele Miotto usually removes the patient’s fat cells using a low-suction syringe technique. After creating a small incision, she carefully inserts the syringe and withdraws the fat.

The low-suction syringe technique varies from the traditional liposuction technique because the surgeon must be very gentle while harvesting the fat cells to preserve them for injection into the patient’s hands.

Once Dr. Miotto has enough fat cells, she closes the tiny incisions using a suture, tape or skin adhesive.

The Difference Between Traditional Liposuction and Fat Harvesting in Atlanta

During a traditional liposuction procedure that targets specific troublesome areas for fat removal, the surgeon has no concern related to preserving the integrity of the fat cells. However, when Dr. Miotto is harvesting fat to transfer to another part of a patient’s body, it is vital that she carefully performs the harvesting procedure to preserve the viability of the fat cells.

Preparing the Harvested Fat for Injection into the Back of the Hands

Once she removes the fat cells, Dr. Gabriele C. Miotto prepares them for injection.

Dr. Miotto Suspends the Cells in a Liquid Medium

Dr. Gabriele Miotto suspends the patient’s fat in a liquid medium before transferring it into a centrifuge tube and placing it within the machine.

What Does the Centrifuge Do?

A centrifuge is a machine that spins a specimen to separate the various particles within it. The centrifuge separates these particles according to their shape, size, viscosity and density.

What Causes These Particles to Separate?

This separation occurs because of the force placed on the specimen. The solid particles move away from the axis of rotation, whereas the lighter particles move toward it. The best centrifugation speed for attaining viable fat cells for injection is a speed that provides a g-force (i.e., gravitational force) of 1,200.

Particle Separation After Centrifugation

Once the centrifugation process is complete, the top layer consists of lipids, the middle layer is fatty tissue and the bottom layer consists of the local anesthetic and blood.

Creating the Incisions and Injecting the Fat

After she prepares the fat, Dr. Miotto creates several very small incisions on top of the patient’s hands. Then, she carefully injects the patient’s fat into targeted areas. After injecting the fat, Dr. Gabriele Miotto gently massages and sculpts the patient’s hands to ensure a smooth, uniform result.

Closing the Incisions

Using a stitch or two, medical tape or a skin adhesive, Dr. Miotto closes the incisions on the back of the patient’s hands.

What to Expect While Recovering from a Fat Grafting Hand Rejuvenation Procedure

A patient’s recovery experience depends on the amount of fat that Dr. Miotto needs to harvest as well as the number of areas she has to use as donor sites.

Needless to say, a patient with fewer donor sites who requires only a small amount of fat for transfer has a shorter recovery time than a patient who needs more fat and has multiple donor sites.

In the areas of the body used for harvesting as well as at the injection sites, patients should expect to have:

• Inflammation
• Bruising
• Soreness

The inflammation and bruising following a hand rejuvenation procedure using autologous fat can last from several weeks to a few months.

Usually, the sites that Dr. Miotto uses for harvesting become more inflamed than the injection sites.

How quickly these symptoms dissipate depends on the specifics of the procedure and the length of time it takes the patient’s body to heal.

Results

After their hand rejuvenation procedure in Atlanta, patients can expect their hands to look fuller and more youthful. Typically, as the transplanted fat creates connections to the patient’s blood supply, his or her results continue to improve.

Since the fat the surgeon injects is the patient’s own living tissue, the results are long-lasting. These results may last five years, 10 years or indefinitely.

Fat Grafting to the Hands in Atlanta: Most Patients Have Two Treatment Sessions

When it comes to fat cells, there is a high re-absorption rate (up to 50 percent), which means that some of the volume Dr. Miotto achieves during the transfer will be lost due to natural body processes. Therefore, to counteract this resorption, she injects more fat than is necessary to achieve the patient’s goals. This resorption process occurs over the next eight to 12 weeks.

To ensure long-lasting results, most patients choose to have two fat-grafting sessions. Dr. Gabriele Miotto performs the second fat grafting session of the patient’s hands three months after the initial session.

Why Does a Patient Have to Wait Three Months for the Second Hand Rejuvenation Session?

By waiting three months, Dr. Miotto can gauge the amount of injected fat that the patient’s body absorbs. This information allows her to determine how much more fat to inject during the patient’s second hand rejuvenation treatment.

Can Dr. Miotto Collect Additional Fat During the First Session to Freeze for the Second Session?

Years ago, the practice of freezing harvested fat for later use was popular; however, since the frozen fat rarely survives upon re-injection, this practice has fallen out of favor.

Can the Patient Use Fat Harvested from a Friend or Family Member?

Using the fat harvested from a friend or family member is not feasible because, just like with an organ transplant (e.g., heart, liver), the body’s immune system will identify the fat a surgeon transplants as a foreign body. Once identified as a foreign invader, the immune system destroys the fat. However, there may be one exception to the harvesting from a family member rule. When a patient has a genetically identical twin, the surgeon may be able to provide the patient with the changes he or she desires using the twin’s fat.

Potential Complications and Risks

Complications resulting from a hand rejuvenation procedure such as this are rare. However, there is always the possibility of an issue arising, which is why the potential complications must be recognized.

Potential risks and complications include:

• Bleeding.
• Visible scarring.
• Infection.
• Unfavorable results.
• The transfer of an inadequate amount of fat.
• Transferring too much fat.
• Contouring irregularities.
• A negative reaction to medications used during the procedure (including anesthesia).
• An allergic reaction to products or medications used before, during or after the treatment.

Patients who choose a highly experienced plastic surgeon and expert injector like Dr. Miotto can reduce the risk of experiencing a complication even more.

What Does it Cost to Rejuvenate the Hands Using Autologous Fat?

Every patient is unique, which is why the only way to determine how much a patient’s hand rejuvenation procedure costs is with an initial consultation at ME Plastic Surgery in Atlanta.

Dr. Gabriele C. Miotto is a highly experienced, top plastic surgeon and expert injector in Atlanta. She performs plastic surgery and provides a variety of nonsurgical aesthetic services to men and women at her office in Atlanta. ME Plastic Surgery is located in Palisades at West Paces. The address is 3200 Downwood Circle NW, Ste 640. To schedule a consultation with Dr. Gabriele C. Miotto at her state-of-the-art office, please call (404) 850-5851.