Signs of ageing
With increasing age the skin loses its elasticity and strength, collagen production slows down and the natural subcutaneous fatty tissue reduces. Along with the gradual loss in volume, gravity, stress and bad habits such as unprotected sunbathing or many years of smoking also leave their mark on the skin. The fatty tissue under the skin gives the face and hands a youthful appearance. The gradual loss of volume leads to wrinkles and furrows around the eyes, nose and mouth and tendons and veins also appear more pronounced on the hands. Apart from synthetic fillers or a surgical procedure such as a facelift, another treatment is available to treat these visible signs of ageing: treatment using autologous fat. Autologous fat harvested using water-jet assisted liposuction is injected directly into the existing fat deposits that are steadily declining due to the ageing process. The addition volume (fatty tissue) fills out the skin, wrinkles are softened, even collapsed cheeks are filled out again, and the face and hands appear younger.Face
Fountain of youth for the face
The loss of volume has a particularly significant effect on the elasticity of the facial skin. It becomes thinner, and fine lines, wrinkles and in some cases deep furrows form in the upper layer of skin around the mouth and nose and on the forehead. To compensate for the loss of volume, a number of different fillers are used nowadays (see ‘Range of fillers’).
Unlike conventional synthetic fillers, Body-Jet® uses the body’s own fat cells to rejuvenate facial skin. Autologous fat can be used to treat glabella wrinkles (wrinkles in the skin between the eyebrows), nasolabial folds (wrinkles that go from the outer edge of the nostrils to the corners of the mouth), mental crease (a horizontal indentation running parallel to the lower lip) or wrinkles around the eyelids.
Fat transfer from thighs to face
The newly injected autologous fat replaces lost subcutaneous fatty tissue and smoothes out wrinkles and scars. Nasolabial folds and perioral wrinkles (wrinkles around the mouth) that develop primarily due to loss of fat in the cheek area can be permanently corrected using transplantation of autologous fat.
AquaLift
AquaLift: The very gentle facelift
AquaLift is a particularly gentle method to use for facelifts. With this technique, the classical facelift is supplemented by the hydrodissection technique. Dissection is the surgical separation or removal of soft tissue and hydrodissection is dissection carried out using the gentle force of the water-jet.
With AquaLift the soft tissue directly beneath the facial skin is gently and specifically detached using the fine fan-shaped water-jet while surrounding vessels and nerves remain largely intact. Thanks to the gentle separation of the tissue structures, there is considerably less bruising and postoperative swelling as well as a better healing process.
The facial skin separated from the soft tissue can now be tightened as in a classical facelift. In this way the nasolabial folds (laugh lines) are smoothed or the chin is tightened – resulting in a significantly more alert and natural facial expression.
Hands
Telltale hands
Not only the face reveals our true age but our hands usually very clearly show the signs of ageing skin. With increasing age, the layer of fatty tissue under the skin shrinks, including on the hands, and over time veins, tendons and bones protrude, making the hands look old. By injecting a thin layer of autologous fat into the backs of the hands, the volume that has been lost is restored.
