Fat grafting, also called fat transfer or lipofilling, moves your own fat from one part of the body to another. Fat is removed by gentle liposuction, purified, and injected in tiny amounts where volume is wanted, such as the face, breasts, buttocks, hands or a dented scar.
It adds soft, natural-feeling volume with no foreign material, and the fat that survives is long lasting. The limit is predictability: commonly 30 to 50 percent of the injected fat is absorbed, so the surgeon cannot set the final volume exactly and a second session is often needed.
What Fat Grafting involves
The donor area, usually the abdomen, flanks or thighs, is infiltrated with fluid containing local anaesthetic and adrenaline. Fat is drawn out with a thin cannula at low suction to protect the cells. It is then washed, filtered or spun to separate the fat from blood, oil and fluid. Using blunt cannulas, the surgeon places the fat in many fine threads at different depths so that each droplet lies next to tissue with a blood supply. For the face a few millilitres per area are used; for breasts or buttocks, several hundred. Entry points are closed with a single stitch or tape.
Who is a good candidate for Fat Grafting?
You need enough spare fat to harvest and a stable weight.
- Hollow cheeks, temples or under-eye area with ageing
- Modest breast enlargement or correction of breast asymmetry without implants
- Contour dents after liposuction, injury or surgery
- Breast reconstruction touch-ups after cancer treatment, with oncology approval
- Thin, bony hands
It is usually not the right choice if:
- Very lean people with no usable donor fat
- Those wanting a large, exact increase in breast size, which implants deliver more reliably
- Smokers, as nicotine lowers graft survival
- People whose weight swings widely, since grafted fat grows and shrinks with the rest of the body
- Anyone on blood thinners that cannot be paused
Technique options
- Structural fat grafting (Coleman technique): Small volumes placed in many passes. The standard for the face and hands.
- Microfat and nanofat: Finer processing for the eyelids and lips. Nanofat contains few living fat cells and is used for skin quality, not volume.
- Large volume grafting: Used for breasts and buttocks with larger cannulas. Buttock fat must be placed only above the muscle for safety.
- Cell-enriched grafting: Adding concentrated stem cells or PRP is marketed to improve survival. Evidence of real benefit remains limited.
What happens during your treatment
Facial fat grafting takes 1 to 2 hours, usually under local anaesthetic with sedation. Breast or body grafting takes 2 to 4 hours under general anaesthetic, as a day case or with one night in hospital. Expect the donor area to ache like a deep bruise and the grafted area to feel full and tight.
Preparing for your trip
Plan for 5 to 8 days in Istanbul. Your surgeon reviews photographs and your medical history before you book, and you meet in person the day before surgery for examination, marking and consent with a professional interpreter.
- Stop smoking and nicotine at least four weeks before and after surgery; it is the single biggest avoidable cause of wound problems
- Tell the team about every medicine and supplement you take; blood thinners, some herbal products and hormone treatment may need to be paused on your doctor's advice
- Arrange for someone to travel with you or to be reachable, and keep the first days at home free of work and lifting
- Book a changeable return flight; your surgeon confirms when you are fit to fly
Recovery and results
The grafted area is deliberately a little overfilled and is swollen and bruised for 1 to 3 weeks; the face can look puffy for 10 to 14 days. Avoid pressure, massage and ice on the graft. A compression garment is worn on the donor site for 2 to 4 weeks. Volume falls over the first 6 to 12 weeks as swelling settles and some fat is absorbed. What remains at 4 to 6 months is considered stable.
- Back to everyday activity: 1 to 2 weeks
- When results show: Stable volume at 4 to 6 months
- How long they last: Surviving fat is long lasting and follows your weight
Safety, risks and revision policy
Using your own tissue avoids allergy and rejection, but fat grafting has its own specific problems.
- Partial absorption leaving less volume than hoped, or uneven take between sides
- Lumps, oil cysts or firm areas of fat necrosis
- Calcifications in the breast that show on mammograms; radiologists can usually tell them from cancer
- Infection at the graft or donor site
- Contour irregularities where the fat was harvested
- Fat entering a blood vessel: very rare, but it can cause blindness or stroke in the face and fatal embolism in the buttock
Every written proposal arranged through Clinic-Y states what the clinic covers if a correction is needed. Ask for it before you book, not after.
Cost of Fat Grafting in Türkiye
Clinic-Y does not publish a single price for Fat Grafting, because the honest figure depends on your case. What moves it:
- Area treated and volume of fat needed
- Local anaesthetic with sedation versus general anaesthetic
- Whether it is combined with facelift, breast or body surgery
- The likelihood of a planned second session
- Garments and follow-up
Send your photographs or reports and you receive written, all-inclusive proposals from suitable teams, side by side. Reviewing your case is free.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much of the fat survives?
Typically half to two thirds in the face and somewhat less in larger volume areas. It varies with technique, the site and whether you smoke.
Is fat better than filler?
Fat suits larger volumes and long-term change, and it is your own tissue. Filler is more precise, adjustable and reversible. Around the eyes, small errors with fat are hard to correct.
Does breast fat grafting hide cancer?
Current evidence does not show that it raises cancer risk or prevents detection, but have a baseline mammogram or ultrasound first and tell future radiologists.
What happens if I lose weight?
Grafted fat behaves like the fat of its donor site. It shrinks with weight loss and grows with weight gain.