Facial Reconstruction with Fat Grafting

Traumatic injuries to the face can cause crippling effects — such as sunken, jagged features and increased scarring.

Facial trauma can come from:

• Motor vehicle accidents
• Gunshots
• Combat wounds
• Other incidents

While surgeons can often rebuild the bones of the face, it’s hard to return the soft tissue to its original form.

Experts at the UPMC Center for Innovation in Restorative Medicine are researching a new form of facial reconstruction called fat grafting.

Led by McGowan Institute's J. Peter Rubin, MD, FACS, fat grafting is minimally invasive surgery. It improves soft tissue defects in the head and face.

Contact Us

McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Bridgeside Point II 
450 Technology Drive
Suite 300
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Read information on campus shuttles.

Phone: 412-624-5500
Fax: 412-624-5363
Email: McGowan@pitt.edu

Fat Grafting Surgery for Facial Trauma

During fat grafting, surgeons:

• Remove fat from somewhere on your body where you need it less.
• Transfer the fat to the places on your face that have lost shape or fullness.

Researchers believe that this stem cell-rich fat promotes:

• Blood vessel growth
• Blood flow
• Volume
• Lift

These are crucial for the fat graft to survive. They also help with healing and stability.

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