THE GUTHRIE GUIDE • Expert Answers from dr. ashley guthrie
What makes "good" fat for fat grafting?
DR. GUTHRIE EXPLAINS
The Small Details That Excite a Facial Plastic Surgeon
In this video, Dr. Ashley Guthrie shares one of the small, unexpected things she geeks out over in the operating room: what a patient's harvested fat looks like during fat grafting. She walks through the qualities that make fat ideal for injection, and describes how she used one patient's fat during a recent facelift to restore volume across several areas of the face. View the full video transcript below.
key takeaways:
- Fat appearance varies from patient to patient.
- Fat can be used to restore natural-looking facial volume.
- During this facelift, fat was transferred to the eyelids, temples, cheeks, and ear lobes.
- Fat grafting can enhance facial rejuvenation using your own tissue.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
In Dr. Ashley Guthrie's Words
On today's "weird things that get me excited":
"Okay, for today's edition of weird things that get me excited as a facial plastic surgeon, it's how a patient's fat looks when we harvest it for fat grafting."
On fat looking different from patient to patient:
"Yes, people's fat looks different. This patient's fat is gorgeous, and it's gorgeous because it's this kind of buttery yellow color. It's smooth. It's not too fibrous. It's not thick. It's not foamy. It's not greasy. It's just the right consistency for injecting."
On today's case:
"Today's case was a facelift, and we used this fat to re-volumize the upper and lower eyelids, the temples, the cheeks, and even the ear lobes."
FAT FOR FAT GRAFTING
Frequently Asked Questions
What is fat grafting?
Fat grafting is a technique where a surgeon harvests a patient's own fat from one area of the body and injects it into another area to restore lost volume. Dr. Ashley Guthrie often uses it alongside procedures like facelifts to re-volumize areas of the face.
Why does the quality of harvested fat matter?
According to Dr. Ashley Guthrie, fat can vary noticeably from patient to patient in color, thickness, and consistency. She describes ideal fat for grafting as a buttery yellow color, smooth, and not too fibrous, thick, foamy, or greasy, which makes it easier to inject evenly.
What areas of the face can be treated with fat grafting?
In the case Dr. Ashley Guthrie describes, fat grafting was used to re-volumize the upper and lower eyelids, temples, cheeks, and ear lobes during a facelift. Fat grafting can be used in various facial areas depending on a patient's individual needs.
Is fat grafting often combined with a facelift?
Yes. Dr. Ashley Guthrie notes that in this case, fat grafting was performed as part of a facelift procedure, using the patient's own harvested fat to restore volume in areas that a facelift alone does not address.
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Dr. Ashley Guthrie is a board-certified facial plastic surgeon at Guthrie Facial Plastic Surgery in Brentwood, Tennessee, serving patients throughout the greater Nashville area.
