Facial Fat Grafting in Puebla

What is facial fat grafting?

Facial fat grafting —also called facial fat transfer, lipofilling or lipoinjection— takes fat from the patient’s own body, purifies it and injects it into the face to restore the volume that ageing empties out: cheeks, temples, nasolabial folds, tear troughs, chin, lips and jawline. Because it is your own (autologous) tissue, there is no rejection and no allergic reaction.

Facial ageing is not only skin that sags. It is also fat that is lost: the deep fat compartments of the face atrophy and descend, which is why a young face looks “full” and an aged one looks “hollowed”, with sunken temples and flat cheeks. Tightening the skin of an emptied face leaves it smooth but gaunt; replacing the volume is what restores the rested look.

Fat is not just filler. It contains stem cells and regenerative factors that, beyond adding volume, improve the texture, brightness and thickness of the skin it is grafted under. That is why a well-done fat graft ages better than a synthetic filler.

Techniques Dr. Arístides Arellano uses

Not all fat is injected the same way or in the same plane. The size of the fat particle, the depth and the cannula change completely depending on the goal —building structure, correcting a tear trough or improving skin— and choosing well is what separates a natural result from a bulky or lumpy face.

• Structural fat grafting (lipostructure): fat micrografts placed by planes, in small amounts and multiple passes, to rebuild the deep volume of cheeks, temples and contour. It is the foundation of the procedure.
• Microfat: fine fat particles for thinner-skinned areas and transitions, where a large particle would show.
• Nanofat: emulsified, filtered fat that no longer adds volume but regenerative capacity; used to improve tear troughs, fine lines and skin quality, not to fill.
• Enriched fat grafting: in selected cases the fat is combined with the patient’s own platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to help a larger share of the graft survive.
• Fat transfer with a facelift (volumetric facelift): fat restores volume while the lift repositions sagging tissue. Replacing volume and repositioning tissue solve different problems in the same face. See facelift.

How is it performed?

Facial fat grafting is an outpatient procedure lasting 1 to 2 hours, performed under local anaesthesia with sedation or general anaesthesia depending on the extent. You walk out the same day.

1. Harvesting the fat. Through a gentle, low-trauma liposuction, fat is taken from a donor area —abdomen, flanks or thighs— via millimetric incisions. It is harvested delicately precisely because those cells must survive afterwards. See liposuction.

2. Processing and purification. The fat is separated from blood, serum and infiltration fluid, leaving only viable fat cells. A dirty or poorly processed graft is almost entirely reabsorbed.

3. Injection through microcannulas. The fat is placed in tiny amounts, across multiple planes and passes, using blunt cannulas that reduce vascular risk. Seeding the fat in fine droplets —not in a block— is what lets each particle sit surrounded by living tissue to nourish and sustain it.

4. Planned overcorrection. Since part of the fat is reabsorbed in the first months, slightly more volume than the final target is injected on purpose. That is why the face looks fuller in the first weeks and then settles.

All surgery carries risk and requires a prior medical assessment. Results may vary according to each patient, their anatomy and their individual healing process.

Who is a good candidate?

People whose face looks emptied, tired or gaunt from volume loss —sunken temples, flat cheeks, marked tear troughs, deep nasolabial folds— in good health, with sufficient donor fat and realistic expectations. Also those who prefer their own tissue over synthetic fillers, and those who want to enhance the result of a facelift.

• A “consumed”-looking face from age or major weight loss.
• Tear troughs and under-eye hollows from volume loss, not just dark skin.
• Asymmetries, depressions or sequelae from trauma, previous surgery or depressed scars.
• Patients seeking a natural, lasting result with their own tissue.
• Greater caution applies to smokers (tobacco compromises graft survival) and to those with very little donor fat or expectations of a dramatic change in a single session.

Recommended post-surgical treatments

To reduce swelling and bruising —both in the face and the donor area— and help a larger share of the graft survive, Dr. Arístides may recommend, depending on the case, manual lymphatic drainage and hyperbaric chamber sessions. See the full guide: Post-surgical recovery and care.

Before and after

Most patients want to see before-and-after photographs before deciding. Out of respect for each person’s privacy, Dr. Arístides Arellano shows real cases —always with documented consent— during your in-person consultation, where you can review results from patients with a starting point similar to yours. Results may vary from patient to patient.

Approximate price

The reference price starts at approximately $25,000 MXN, depending on the complexity of the case and the indicated technique. The price is all-inclusive: it covers use of the operating theatre and facilities, pre-operative laboratory work and the post-surgical recovery treatments. It is not the surgeon’s fee alone. Approximate price — the definitive cost is set at your private consultation with Dr. Arístides Arellano.

About Dr. Arístides Arellano

Dr. Arístides Arellano is a plastic surgeon holding a specialty licence: he practises under a Mexican medical licence (D.G.P. 1125959) and a specialty licence in Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (0002008), both issued by the Directorate General of Professions (DGP), which reissued his certificate of professional standing in 2025. His career began before Mexico’s present-day specialty-board system existed: he belongs to the founding generation of plastic surgery in Puebla, the second generation of a surgical tradition started in 1971 by Dr. Francisco Arellano Ocampo. Trust is verified, not promised: both licences are public and anyone can look them up in the DGP’s National Registry of Professionals.

Related patient guide

Before deciding who should operate on you, it is worth reading How to choose a plastic surgeon in Puebla — part of the informational guide series reviewed by Dr. Arístides Arellano.

Trust is verified, not promised. All 210 scanned documents —degree, licences, diplomas, publications and certificates, from 1977 to 2025— are open in Dr. Arístides Arellano’s credential archive, alongside an explanation of the difference between a specialty licence and a board certification.

Recovery · step by step

• Days 1–3Swelling and some bruising in the face and the donor area. Intentional overcorrection: the face looks fuller than the final result.
• Days 7–10Most of the swelling subsides; sutures removed if applicable. Social life resumes with residual swelling.
• Weeks 2–4Part of the fat is reabsorbed and the volume begins to settle. This is normal and expected.
• Months 3–6The surviving graft stabilises; the real result appears. Skin quality also improves.
• Months 6–12Definitive result. If more volume is wanted, a second session is assessed.

Frequently asked questions

Every figure published on this site is approximate and is not a quote. Any procedure or treatment first requires a private assessment consultation with Dr. Arístides Arellano —$800 MXN, charged separately— and it is at that consultation that the definitive cost of your case is determined.

Educational content; it does not replace a medical consultation. Results may vary from person to person.