The Future of Aesthetics?

By: Katharine Griffiths
Created on 10th February 2012

Liposculpture is the second most popular procedure after breast augmentation in the UK. But what if you could remove those unwanted bumps and lumps, then utilise the fat cells to turn back the ageing clock?

here has been much talk in the press about 'two-for- one' procedures, where you take fat from one part of the body and re-inject it somewhere else. But fat transfer or fat grafting is nothing new - it has been around since the 1890s but it was in the mid-1980s that a successful technique was developed and gradually taken up by plastic surgeons over the next decade - but what is exciting is how the process has been developed and what that means for patients.

Fat cells are very delicate - although you might not think that when you are desperately trying to shift those extra pounds - and traditional fat harvesting techniques such as liposuction resulted in many fat cells being damaged which had a negative affect on their viability when re-injected.

“The conventional technique of fat grafting has many variables that can reduce the success rate of the graft,” explains consultant plastic surgeon Mr Fazel Fatah of The Westbourne Centre and one of the first practitioners in the UK to offer new procedure BodyJet LipoModelling with Fat Transfer. “The BodyJet, however, harvests the fat at a constant low pressure and reduces the need for additional processing and handling of the fat, which is beneficial for the success of the fat graft."

But what if there was a way you could get a safe, natural filler that lasts a lifetime - your own fat. We interview Mr Fatah and cosmetic doctor Hugo Kitchen about this new procedure, which could revolutionise aesthetics.

Explaining the science

BodyJet combines two processes; fat is removed, harvested and then made ready to be grafted in any area of the body to enhance contours, such as the face and hands to combat loss of volume through ageing or in the breasts and body for enhanced volume and to correct contour irregularities.

“We use water as a kind of scalpel to remove the fat cells and simultaneously suction them out very gently,” reveals Dr Kitchen. “With BodyJet you have the ability to turn the power right down so you're only dislodging the fat cells from each other which means they have a very high chance of coming out whole and viable.

"All treatment are different depending on the patient's requirements, but usually when we've removed enough fat cells to use for re-injection then we can turn the power up and continue to sculpt the area of the body you're working on.

"The fat is taken off into a canister which is enclosed within the machine so it is all totally sterile and then we can draw the fat cells up into syringes and re- inject."

All of which makes for a very gentle procedure. BodyJet is almost painless compared to other energy-based machines and the procedure can be performed under local anaesthetic and sedation.

This is something that Mr Fatah has witnessed since using the machine. "Based on the patients I've treated, they all seem to have reduced discomfort and bruising from the donor site."

Fat vs filler

Hyaluronic acid dermal fillers have been at the forefront of the aesthetics market since their introduction in the late 1990s. In the right hands, they are a safe and effective treatment but they are temporary and, over a lifetime, they represent a sizeable cost.

In the past, though, they did have one major advantage over fat transfer: predictability. A practitioner knew that if they placed a certain amount of dermal filler in a certain place, they could achieve a certain effect. However, improved techniques and the increased viability achieved using the BodyJet procedure changes that.

Breast practice

Mr Fatah uses the BodyJet in both his NHS and private practice. "Although it is suitable for use in the hands and face, as well as the buttocks and breasts, I would say it stands out for large volume fat graft.

In my practice, I predominantly use it for breast reconstruction procedures to improve on overall results and to replace silicone implants."

Fat chance

So how does Body-Jet compare to its competitors purely on fat removal alone? "I'm using Body- Jet preferentially over the other systems for straightforward body sculpting because it's so much faster than Vaser or SmartLipo," says Dr Kitchen. "The infiltration and suction are done at the same time so it's about 50 per cent quicker than other techniques."

Operator dependent
BodyJet represents cutting- edge technology but, as with all aesthetic procedures, it is only as good as the hands that are operating it, as Mr Fatah strongly believes. "So far I've been very pleased with the results and efficiency of the system, but the overall success is down to the practitioner's technique. If you don't graft it in the right way then the patient can still be left unhappy with the results."