Nanofat and Stem Cell Facelift
A nanofat and stem cell face lift uses your own fat, or adipose cells, and the stem cells within to rejuvenate your face via fat grafting techniques. This provides a very powerful and natural method of regeneration and rejuvenation to achieve a younger-looking, fresher appearance.
The grafting of nanofat can be combined with a surgical facelift where the skin is also lifted, cut, and sutured to reduce laxity and tighten the skin on the face, or combined with PRP.
The fat cells contain the building blocks of new life – stem cells and growth factors which can be transferred to your face to stimulate rejuvenation within the skin, enhancing your general appearance, reducing fine lines and wrinkles, and improving skin tone, texture, and elasticity.
The use of stem cells in this way is novel and restorative being part of a new field of medicine that is emerging in broader healthcare and aesthetics, called regenerative medicine.
Firstly, fat cells are extracted from the fat layer just below the skin in your stomach, thighs, or buttocks; this acts as your donor site. Using specialised equipment, the fat is purified, emulsified, and filtered to create the small particles of nanofat that have high concentrations of stem cells. The nanofat is special because it contains something called adipose-derived stromal vascular fraction and it is this which contains special mesenchymal stem cells and growth factors. Mesenchymal stem cells are the ones that make bone, cartilage, fat, and other soft tissue and are used for wound repair, to heal damaged or scarred tissue. They are the building blocks required to create new, healthy cells. The nanofat also helps to restore volume and structure to the tissue when it is injected or grafted back into the deeper dermal layers of tissue within the face. As the nanofat is very liquid, unlike a direct fat transfer procedure, it can be used to restore and rejuvenate delicate areas around the eyes and tear trough.
Some regard it as akin to a natural, stimulatory soft tissue filler, that restores tissue from the inside out, rather than simply filling like dermal filler products. The aim is to increase collagen production, boost vascularisation to bring more blood to the area, and regenerate other necessary tissue like nerves, to bring back health and hydration to the skin.
The adipose-derived nanofat mixture including the stromal vascular fraction contains various growth factors which all have important roles and regenerative properties and can be used to treat:
• The face, including the tear trough to improve dark circles, reduce fine lines, crepey and ageing skin.
• The décolletage and neck, where crepey skin can also be a problem.
• Similarly, the technique works well on the hands and to improve and repair stretch marks on the breast, buttocks, and abdomen.
The treatment is often performed in combination with Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy which adds in different growth factors to the stem cells found in the fat sourced from blood plasma. It’s a bit like gardening – we are adding the stem cells from the nanofat which will speed up and increase the production of healthy skin cells, and then we are adding the PRP as a fertiliser to add in extra growth factors to help nourish the area and improve the rejuvenation.
Treatment cost
Price From* After consultation the doctor will confirm the cost.
Treatment Summary at a glance
1-2 hours
One
Local
Bruising and swelling at liposuction site. Redness at injection sites.
Improved skin quality, tone, texture, and thickness.
6-12 months, repeat treatments recommended.
Almost immediately, depending on healing from liposuction.
Within 1 week due to the liposuction.
How does it work?
Firstly, we need to harvest the nanofat using a liposuction technique. This is usually harvested from the abdomen, but can be the thighs or buttocks, where we take between 20 and 40 millilitres of fat from just below the surface of the skin, where it is rich in adipose derived stem cells. This is a very small amount of fat and can be extracted using a small cannula through a tiny incision in the skin. We need only take the amount of fat needed to harvest an optimum concentration of stem cells needed for the facelift treatment.
The extracted nanofat is then processed so that the stem cells and growth factors can be extracted from the fat cells using a series of filtration methods. It is this liquid, which is reinjected into the face, where the stem cells can get to work regenerating the fibroblasts or skin cells to stimulate the production of new collagen and rejuvenate the tissue. We are not reinjecting the whole fat cells themselves, just the bio-active regenerative elements that were contained in the fat when they were harvested, only nano particles of fat remain.
If the treatment is being performed in combination with Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy, then a blood sample will also be taken from your arm which can then be processed in a centrifuge to separate the blood elements. This extracts the gold plasma liquid which contains various growth factors.
The two components of nanofat concentrate and PRP can then be prepared for reinjection into the face, usually one after the other. This procedure harnesses the stromal vascular fraction that is rich in stem cells and growth factors and other regenerative components that can naturally improve and restore the ageing the face.
Treatment is performed in a single treatment session.
We offer interest FREE finance plans to patients. Please contact our experienced team to learn more.
FAQ's
The use of nanofat injections for facial rejuvenation or face lift is suitable for both men and women and is used to improve fine lines, thinning skin, volume loss and other factors associated with ageing in the face.
Your suitability for treatment will be assess by our doctor during a consultation. A full medical history will be taken, including information about any underlying medical conditions, medications you are taking, and past aesthetic treatments or surgeries to the face. As long as you are generally in good health, without any active infections on your face, you should be suitable for treatment and will require a small area of excess fat that can be extracted for use.
Pregnant and breast-feeding women are also not suitable for treatment.
An injection of local anaesthesia will be used to numb the area where we extract the fat. This means the procedure will be painless, although you may feel sensations such as tugging, pushing, or prodding as the fat is removed.
The reinjection of the nanofat stem cells (and PRP) is performed following the administration of topical local anaesthesia to the face, if required.
The procedure takes approximately 1-2 hours to perform.
You should expect some minor bruising, swelling and discomfort at the site where the fat was extracted. Any pain can be managed with over-the-counter pain medication.
You can also expect some redness and minor swelling to the face where the nanofat injections were performed. This should resolve within 24-48 hours.
You can return to normal activities almost immediately, and certainly within the space of a week once you feel comfortable following the liposuction.
In the weeks following treatment, you can expect to see improvements in the skin health of your face. As this is a natural procedure that uses your own natural cells, it will take a few weeks for changes to appear, continuing to improve over a few months.
Results are expected to last up to a year, as ageing unfortunately continues. Repeat treatments are recommended to maintain and further improve your outcome.
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