Thank you for your Direct to Doctor query. Fat grafting is a multistep procedure:
Fat harvest - usually through liposuction
Purification or concentration - excess fluid, blood and inflammatory cells are removed. Some doctors do stem cell concentration in this stage (the efficacy and validity of this procedure needs to be discussed)
Injection - into the area of interest
For fat grafting in clinic, the rules in Singapore allow for only 100cc of fat to be harvested and only in clinics accredited to do liposuction. After purification and concentration, usually not more than two thirds of the fat will be left to use for grafting. Hence, in the clinic setting, fat grafting is mainly used for face or minor corrections to body contour or for minor reconstructive surgery purposes. This is usually done under local anaesthesia.
For larger volume fat grafting, the procedure has to be performed in a MOH certified day surgery center. The steps are the same but it allows for larger volume of liposuction and therefore greater volumes of fat for grafting. E.g. to breast or buttock. These procedures are usually performed under general.
The downtime is related to the amount of fat harvested. I usually advise 1 week for clinic procedures and 2 weeks for more major work in day surgery. Different plastic surgeons will have different practices for reducing downtime, so best to check with the specific surgeon. It also depends on how big an effort you are willing to make to achieve a faster recovery. In my practice, I have different recovery regimes for my patients depending on how often my patients are willing to come to the clinic after their fat grafting.
Best wishes
