Cosmetic Plastic Surgery In Toronto:
Hand Rejuvenation
On any given day, our hands may experience intense heat from dishwater, the intense cold of winter, and few of us protect our hands from UV rays with sunscreen. All this exposure to extreme conditions causes the hands to appear older and betray the actual age of those who take extra care to keep their faces looking young.
Your hands should help express your thoughts, but if you feel they’re sending the wrong message, then Hand Rejuvenation with Micro-Fat Grafting is the answer you’ve been looking for.
Micro-Fat Grafting
A highly specialized procedure that takes years to perfect and master, Dr. Born has been using Micro-Fat Grafting to rejuvenate and contour his patients since he learned the original technique from Dr. Sydney Coleman in NYC in 1998. Dr. Born has modified and created his own technique to provide long lasting, pleasing aesthetic results, and adapted the technique to contour the Breasts, Buttocks and general body contour as well.
Fat is harvested using a small syringe, then prepared and placed in other small syringes for the injection. The area for contouring is frozen while the patient sleeps or is under sedation. The fat is placed in tiny amounts, mostly on the deep layer, next to the bone if possible so that visibility or palpability is not an issue. This deep layer of placement also improves the percentage of fat survival. A small cannula is used so that small packets of fat are placed and they easily take on a new blood supply and survive.
Why Micro-Fat Grafting?
There are many reasons to use a patient’s own fat for rejuvenating the hands.
- To restore volume lost with aging
- To enhance the quality and texture of the skin
- To hide and disguise the veins and tendons on the back of the hands as they become more prominent with age
Where is the fat harvested from (fat donor sites)?
Fat is harvested from areas with excess fat – typically the tummy, flanks, lateral or medial thigh – depending on the area the patient prefers, the volume of fat required, and the quality of the fat. The key is to avoid creating a defect in the donor area. A compression garment may be worn after harvesting but this is not always necessary.
Preparation
As with all surgeries performed by Dr. Born, patients are prescribed supplements to take before and after the surgery, to help prepare and recover faster and without complications.
Recovery
You are encouraged to resume normal activities; this decreases the amount of pain and increases the speed of your recovery. To allow the fat grafted fat to take, patients should use their hands as little as possible for the first five days following surgery, after which a dressing will be removed from the back of the hands. Massaging of the areas where the fat was harvested, particularly over the flanks, will speed the healing process. A Compression Garment may be needed for one to two weeks after surgery, depending on the degree of swelling. You may wear Spanx or tight Lycra instead of the surgical garment if you prefer. No Sutures or drains are used.
My staff will instruct you on how to massage the donor sites on the third day following surgery. Bruising may be present for 3 to 10 days in the donor sites. There will be swelling in the hands for the first month, and there may be some degree of persistent swelling for two months, after which more fat may be added if additional contouring is required.
Download our Post-Operative Care Instructions.
Risks of Liposuction
Liposuction is a very safe procedure and the risks of are minimal. Generally, fat removal is limited to five litres – this is considered a large volume.
Specific Risks of hand harvesting fat and Liposuction
- Pain
- Bruising lasting longer than three weeks
- Firmness along the incision- this is normal for the first few months
- Asymmetry (this is normal and expected) in most persons there is pre-existing asymmetry
- Scarring – reduced greatly if the tape is worn for three months following the surgery
- Infection
- Mammogram/ultrasound interference due to scarring in the tissue
- Fluid collection or seroma
- Not enough correction
- Too much fat removed requiring fat grafting to fill the area
Risks of Facial Micro-Fat Grafting
- Pain
- Bruising lasting longer than three weeks
- Firmness along the incision- this is normal for the first few months
- Asymmetry (this is normal and expected) in most persons there is pre-existing asymmetry
- Infection
- Fluid collection or seroma
- Not enough correction/too much correction
- Fat necrosis (leading to drainage from the wound)
- Granulomatous wound healing
- Injury to a nerve providing sensation
- Injury to a nerve to the facial muscles, causing asymmetry of the smile or movement problems
- Cyst
- Fat blocking an artery causing skin loss/scarring, blindness, stroke
There are some general risks intrinsic to all surgical procedures; please take a moment to review them.
Procedure length
The length of this procedure varies according to the unique needs of the patient and the areas treated. Micro-Fat Grafting may be performed under a general or local anaesthetic with sedation.
The Result
Micro-Fat Grafting is a safe, permanent way to restore a youthful appearance to the hands, and may require only some minor touch-ups after surgery.
It is important to note that each surgery is tailored to meet the unique needs and features of individual patients.
What other patients want
Many patients combine Hand Rejuvenation with Breast or Facial surgery, and/or Liposuction of the flanks, abdomen, thighs or calves to achieve an overall enhancement of their appearance.
If you’ve been searching for a safe, permanent way to restore youthfulness to the appearance of your hands, book your consultation with Dr. Born today.
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