Facial fat grafting in Korea moves a small amount of your own fat, usually suctioned from the abdomen or thighs, into hollow parts of the face such as the temples, cheeks or under-eye grooves. It is done under local anesthesia with sedation or under general anesthesia and takes roughly one to two hours. Swelling and bruising usually settle over one to two weeks, so most visitors plan at least a week in Seoul before flying. Part of the transferred fat is reabsorbed during the first months, which is why the final volume is judged at around three to six months and why some people need a second session. Serious complications are rare but real and are covered below.
Guide
Why only part of the grafted fat survives
Transferred fat has no blood supply on the day of surgery. Cells close to living tissue pick up new vessels within days, while cells in the middle of a large deposit may die first. Surgeons therefore inject tiny threads of fat in several layers, which gives more cells a chance to connect.
How much remains differs from person to person and from area to area. Areas that move a lot, such as the lips, tend to hold less than the temples or forehead. Smoking, a very thin face and heavy pressure on the area in the first weeks can all lower the amount that stays.
A 2016 systematic review and meta-analysis by Zhou and colleagues in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery pooled 17 studies with 387 cases and estimated a fat survival rate of 45 percent with conventional grafting, against 60 percent when the fat was enriched with extra cells. The same review found a clearer gain in facial cases than in breast cases, but too little evidence that enrichment lowered complications.
Guide
Do additives like PRP keep more fat?
Platelet-rich plasma, spun from your own blood, is often offered as an add-on to help the graft take. The research is still thin. In a 2018 split-face trial in Aesthetic Surgery Journal, Sasaki compared fat mixed with platelet-rich plasma against fat mixed with saline in 10 patients and measured volume by 3D imaging over one year.
The platelet-rich plasma side showed higher volume on average, but the difference was not statistically significant, and the author concluded that more patients and longer follow-up were needed. Treat such add-ons as extras with unproven benefit, and ask what is added and how it is prepared.
Guide
When a second session makes sense
Because the amount that survives cannot be predicted exactly, many surgeons plan facial fat grafting as one or two sessions from the start. Heavy overfilling in one sitting is no shortcut: crowded fat survives less and raises the risk of lumps and cysts.
A top-up is usually considered only after the first result has stabilized, around three to six months later. For a visitor that means a second trip. Ask how touch-ups are handled, whether the first plan already assumes one, and who reviews your photos once you are home.
Guide
Serious risks to discuss before surgery
Most problems are minor: swelling, bruising, a slightly uneven result, or soreness at the harvest site. Fat necrosis can leave firm nodules or oil cysts that may need steroid injections or removal, and lumps show more easily in thin skin under the eyes.
The gravest risk is fat entering a blood vessel. Published case reports describe fat embolism after facial grafting leading to sudden loss of vision, stroke and, very rarely, death, most often after injections near the glabella, nose or forehead. Surgeons lower this risk with blunt cannulas, small volumes, slow injection and avoiding high pressure. Sudden eye pain, blurred vision, a severe headache or weakness during or after the procedure needs emergency care at once.
Guide
Who may be better served by another option
Fat grafting suits people with clear volume loss and enough donor fat. It is a poor fit for someone who wants an exact result in one sitting, has very little body fat, smokes, or has a bleeding disorder or uncontrolled health problems. Pregnancy is a reason to wait.
Added volume does not correct fine lines or skin texture, and sagging skin may need a lift instead.
Evidence
Research behind this page
- A Preliminary Clinical Trial Comparing Split Treatments to the Face and Hand With Autologous Fat Grafting and Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP): A 3D, IRB-Approved StudyAesthetic Surgery Journal · 2018 · doi:10.1093/asj/sjy254
In 10 patients, fat mixed with platelet-rich plasma showed higher but not statistically significant volume retention over one year than fat mixed with saline, with no adverse events recorded.
- Efficacy and Safety of Cell-Assisted LipotransferPlastic and Reconstructive Surgery · 2016 · doi:10.1097/prs.0000000000001981
Across 17 studies and 387 cases, cell-assisted lipotransfer had a higher pooled fat survival rate than conventional grafting, with similar complication rates and a clearer benefit in the face than in the breast.
FAQ
Questions about Vline Lipo in Gangnam
How long does facial fat transfer in Korea last?
The fat that is still present after about six months usually behaves like normal fat and can last for years. It still changes with weight gain, weight loss and aging, so a face that loses weight later will also lose some grafted volume. Results vary from person to person, which is why surgeons judge the outcome only after the early reabsorption phase is over.
Where is the fat taken from?
Most surgeons harvest from the lower abdomen, flanks or inner thighs through small cuts a few millimeters long. Only a small volume is needed for the face, so the harvest site rarely changes body shape. It can still be bruised, sore and swollen for one to two weeks, and a compression garment is often worn there for a short time afterward.
Can I fly home a few days after fat grafting?
Many surgeons advise staying about a week so swelling can be checked and stitches at the harvest site removed. A flight itself is not usually the problem, but leaving early means any lump, infection or uneven swelling is seen by a different doctor. Plan the return around the first follow-up visit and keep written aftercare instructions with you. Ask the clinic how it follows up with patients who have already flown home.
Should I choose fat grafting or filler for facial hollows?
Neither is suited to everyone; they solve the problem differently. Filler is placed in minutes, can be adjusted, and hyaluronic acid filler can be dissolved, but it wears off. Fat uses your own tissue and can last longer, yet it needs a harvest, has a longer recovery and cannot be dissolved if too much stays. Some people try filler first to preview the shape.
What should I avoid in the first weeks?
Avoid pressing, massaging or sleeping on the grafted areas unless the surgeon tells you otherwise. Skip smoking, heavy exercise, saunas and alcohol for at least the first one to two weeks, since they can raise swelling or reduce blood flow to the graft. Do not undergo facial massage, radiofrequency or other heat treatments on the area until your surgeon clears it.
Can too much fat be removed later?
Yes, but it is harder than dissolving filler. Excess or lumpy fat may be reduced with small-volume suction, steroid injections or direct excision, depending on depth and size. Each option carries its own risk of marks or contour changes, so modest amounts in the first session are usually the plan worth discussing with the treating doctor. Ask in advance how the clinic would manage an overcorrection.