Most people consider excess fat as something undesirable, which can lead them to seek out cosmetic procedures to address the problem. Liposuction, which is designed to remove stubborn pockets of excess fat that have not responded to a regular routine of exercise and a balanced diet, is the most popular of these procedures. In fact, breast augmentation is the only cosmetic surgical procedure that is consistently more popular than liposuction. According to the American Society for Plastic Surgeons (the largest professional organization for plastic surgeons), its members performed more than 235,000 liposuctions last year, which was a 6 percent increase from more than 225,000 liposuctions in 2015.

Although the continuing popularity of liposuction procedures in 2016 is not particularly noteworthy by itself, there has been one interesting change associated with the procedure. In most cases, the fat that is removed during the procedure is simply discarded as medical waste. However, this past year showed a marked increase in procedures that actually reuse the fat removed during a liposuction procedure in other parts of the body to help shape, sculpt, and fill out certain areas. This procedure is known as fat grafting.

2016 Fat Graft Stats

For 2016, more than 79,000 fat grafting procedures were performed. This was a dramatic 13 percent increase from 2015, in which slightly more than 70,000 of these procedures were performed. Interestingly, the number for 2015 was only 4 percent higher than that for 2014 (more than 67,000). Even specific fat grafting procedures have shown increased interest over the past year. For example, buttock augmentation increased by 26 percent, and breast augmentation increased by an astounding 72 percent. It seems quite obvious that there has been a large increase in the fat grafting technique over the past year. How does it work, and what are its advantages over other body shaping and sculpting procedures?

What Is Fat Grafting?

Fat grafting involves a three-step process, which may need to be repeated several times in order to get the best results. First, the fat is removed from one area of the body, such as the abdomen or thighs. This is often done with a liposuction procedure, in which Dr. Pin will first make small incisions, and then use a thin, hollow metal tube (called a cannula) to suction out the fat. Next, the fat will be purified using a centrifuge, in order to remove any impurities, such as blood. Finally, the purified fat is placed into the area to be sculpted or shaped using a cannula). The fat is placed in a grid pattern until the area has been filled in to achieve the desired results.

Advantages of Fat Grafting

The biggest advantage of fat grafting over dermal fillers to shape or sculpt, particularly in the facial area, is that you are using material from your own body, so there will be almost no chance of allergic reaction to foreign substances. Furthermore, you will get natural results that can often last longer than dermal fillers. Finally, fat grafting can be a non-invasive means to get your desired results for larger body areas, such as the breasts or buttocks, particularly if you are not looking to make any dramatic changes.

The increased interest in non-invasive body sculpting, shaping, and filling techniques such as fat grafting seem to reflect a desire of patients to find less invasive means of achieving the goals they want from cosmetic procedures. The 2016 ASPS statistics can be seen here.