Fat transfer, also called fat grafting, is a procedure that harvests fat from an area where you have excess, purifies it, and injects it into an area where you want more volume, such as the face, hands, buttocks, or hips. Because it uses your own tissue, the result is natural in look and feel and permanent for the fat that survives the transfer. It is almost always combined with liposuction, because liposuction is how the fat is harvested in the first place, and with modern all-in-one systems the entire process happens in a single awake procedure.
How does fat transfer actually work?
Fat is gently harvested with liposuction from a donor area, most often the abdomen, flanks, or thighs. It is then processed to separate living fat cells from fluid, oil, and debris, and the purified fat is injected in small, layered amounts into the target area. Over the following weeks, the transferred fat establishes a blood supply in its new location. The fat that survives this process is permanent and behaves like native tissue, gaining and losing volume with your weight like any other fat.
Where is fat transfer used?
The most common uses are adding volume to the buttocks and hips for body contouring, restoring fullness to the face, particularly the cheeks, temples, and under-eye hollows, and rejuvenating the backs of the hands. It is also used to smooth contour irregularities and to soften areas that have lost volume with age or weight loss. In every case, the appeal is the same: natural material, natural result, no foreign substance.
Why combine it with liposuction?
Because the two procedures are halves of one plan. Liposuction removes fat from where you don't want it; fat transfer places it where you do. Combining them means a single procedure addresses both goals, and the donor fat that would otherwise be discarded becomes the raw material for the enhancement. At ICON, both are performed awake, in-office, using the Apyx AYON system, which handles infiltration, ultrasound-assisted liposuction, aspiration, skin tightening, and fat transfer on one platform. One device, one session, one recovery.
How much of the transferred fat survives?
Not all of it, and any honest provider will tell you so. A portion of the transferred fat is reabsorbed in the first few months as the graft establishes its blood supply. Retention depends on technique, how gently the fat was harvested and handled, and where it was placed. We plan for this by placing a measured amount more than the final target and by using harvesting and processing methods designed to keep fat cells intact. The volume you see at three months is a reliable preview of your long-term result.
What is recovery like?
Recovery follows the liposuction side of the procedure: compression over the donor areas, some swelling and bruising for a week or two, and a return to normal routines within days. The transfer site needs gentle handling in the early weeks, which for buttock transfer means avoiding prolonged direct pressure on the area. Final contour settles over about three months as swelling resolves and the graft stabilizes.
Who is a good candidate?
Patients with enough donor fat to harvest, realistic expectations about retention, and a clear goal for both the removal and the enhancement. Very lean patients may not have sufficient donor fat and are better served by other options. Your consultation includes a body composition scan and a frank conversation about what fat transfer can and can't deliver for your anatomy. Read more about our approach on the Awake Liposuction guide.