Drs. Sydney R. Coleman, M.D. & Alesia P. Saboeiro, M.D.

Tribeca Plastic Surgery - 44 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10013

"Fat Grafting to the Breast Revisited: Safety and Efficacy"

Read The Article

LipoStructure®: The Ideal Filler

Dr. Sydney Coleman of New York City is the inventor of LipoStructure®: a revolutionary technique that uses your own body fat as a natural, living filler to achieve precise structural alterations wherever it is placed. After performing LipoStructure® almost three thousand times in the last 17 years with consistent results, Dr. Coleman feels that it is safe, adaptable, undetectable and has every indication of permanence.

THE SEARCH FOR A FILLER

For over a century, surgeons have searched with little success for a filler to restructure the face and body. Physicians have used a bizarre assortment of foreign substances including gold, silver, paraffin, sponge rubber, silk, gutta-percha, and ivory; and more recently, silicone, collagen and Goretex. Despite well publicized complications, some of these remain in common use because we have not found a more suitable filler. With LipoStructure®, we can now use the patient's own fat to alter the structure of the face and body.

THE TECHNIQUE OF LIPOSTRUCTURE®

To ensure lasting changes, the transplanted fat must be able to survive in its new environment. With LipoStructure®, body fat is gently harvested, refined with minimal handling, and painstakingly layered into minuscule strands. The method isolates each bit of fat within the surrounding muscle, skin, bone, cartilage or connective tissue. This specific layering method creates a large surface area of contact with the augmented area. This ensures that nutrition can be exchanged through capillaries in the enveloping tissue. This is essential for the fat to survive.

LIPOSTRUCTURE® CREATES STRUCTURAL CHANGE

Dr. Coleman has discovered that by placement at different layers or by using different "weaving" techniques, he can manipulate the tissues to change structures. He can flip out a lip to show more of the pink, push up a sagging buttock or support a drooping eyelid. Using this method Dr. Coleman sculpts the tissues of the face and body to create more angular cheeks, healthier eyes, a stronger jawline or more voluptuous lips.

LIPOSTRUCTURE® DOES NOT FEEL LIKE FAT

After the fatty tissue is placed by the LipoStructure® method, it no longer feels or looks like fat, but feels and looks like the enveloping tissues. For transplanted fat to feel like fat, the pieces of fat must touch each other. However, with LipoStructure® each bit of fat is surrounded by muscle, skin, cartilage or bone. For this reason, the area does not feel fatter, but assumes the texture of the surrounding tissues. Even the most dramatic changes in size or structure are so natural to touch and visual examination that they remain undetectable without memories or photographs with which to compare.

LIPOSTRUCTURE® IS STRUCTURE

In summary, the "structure" in LipoStructure® refers to two concepts. First, the fatty tissues can be placed or woven in such a fashion to create architectural or structural changes in the face or body. Additionally, the newly placed fat assumes the structural qualities of the tissues around which it is placed. After a century of searching, LipoStructure® at last provides physicians with a safe, long-lasting structural filler for altering facial and body contours.

LipoStructure®: A More Natural Aesthetic

The main reasons for adding structure to the face are to replace atrophied tissues and to enhance facial elements or proportion. The common goal of both of these indications is to create a more harmonious and aesthetically appealing proportion of the face.

AUGMENTATION & REJUVENATION

As we age, our faces become smaller. The skin and bone remains the same size, but the cheeks, chin, jaw, forehead, etc. decrease in size. The fat, muscle and connective tissues atrophy or waste away, leaving behind unsupported skin. As the support underlying the skin disappears, the skin falls into wrinkles and folds. As the cheek becomes smaller, bags under the eyes become more prominent. As the jawline and chin loose their prominence, jowls appear. As the youthful fullness of the brow and upper eyelid dissipates, an empty sack of skin is left behind.

Since shrinkage of the subcutaneous tissues is the primary manifestation of aging, replacement of the atrophied tissue by restoring structure is an obvious method of rejuvenation. Diffusely augmenting the structure of the forehead, cheeks, mouth, chin and jawline restores the fullness of youth.

Traditional plastic surgery has identified the signs of aging - wrinkles, bags, jowls and folds. Most cosmetic surgeries have tried to remove these signs of aging. Unfortunately, they do not take into account how people looked when they are younger. Therefore, the end result of a facelift or eye tuck is that although the person may be tighter, they do not look like they did when they were young. With few exceptions, traditional plastic surgery revolves around a single solution to the challenges of augmentation and rejuvenation - cutting away fat, skin or muscle. Instead of tightening and shortening by excision of unsupported skin, Dr. Coleman uses LipoStructure® to infiltrate the face and body with a living filler, correcting asymmetry and restoring the fullness of youth, naturally and subtly. Removing wrinkles does not necessarily create the youth. Replacing fullness to a face restores youth.

CORRECTION OF ACNE SCARRING

Aging and acne both erode the structures under the skin to leave behind an emptier sack of skin which is suitable to filling and restructuring with LipoStructure®. The years of smoldering infections and abscesses associated with acne destroy the normal supporting elements under the skin. The resulting acne scarring of the skin is merely the "tip of the iceberg." The subcutaneous structures devastated by chronic acne must be restored to enact a healthy appearance to these ravaged faces. Acne scarring treated by only altering the skin is incompletely treated. Restructuring immediately under the skin restores texture to the skin. As important, replacing the volume of tissue loss in the forehead, cheeks, jawline and chin due to chronic acne can restore a normal proportion of the face.

FACIAL PROPORTION

Even normal facial structures can be aided by LipoStructure®. A stronger jawline creates a healthier, more powerful face. Eliminating the tear trough deformity and hollowness of lower eyelids eliminate the tired, sad appearance. Softening the frown lines between the eyebrows can make a person look less anxious or angry. Filling irregularities can strengthen and straighten a nose. Voluptuous lips give a healthier, sexier appearance. Enhancement with LipoStructure® of specific facial elements can refine overall facial harmony and proportion.

Frequently Asked Questions: LipoStructure®

What is LipoStructure®?

LipoStructure® is a process in which fat from one area of the body is used to build lasting structural changes in the face and body.

How long has Dr. Coleman been performing LipoStructure®?

LipoStructure® has been under development by Dr. Coleman since 1986. He has performed the procedure over 2000 times.

How long does the fat last after being placed by LipoStructure®?

Fat placed by the LipoStructure® technique has shown every indication of permanence. Dr. Coleman published studies in 1995 in the Aesthetic Journal documenting the long-term survival of transplanted fat.

Why have I heard that fat grafts don't work?

Fatty tissue is extremely fragile and is easily killed. Most techniques traumatize the fat causing unpredictable results. LipoStructure® is a new technique for moving fat that allows the fat to survive.

Is fat grafting safe?

Yes. People have been grafting fat in humans since 1893. Over the last century the controversy has always been on the survival of the fat, not the safety of grafted fat.

Is LipoStructure® safer than regular plastic surgery?

Yes, much safer. Most other cosmetic surgeries involve introducing sharp objects (such knives and scissors) under the skin. Damage to nerves, arteries, veins and other vital structures is a real possibility. Dr. Coleman has minimized this risk by developing a line of soft-edged, blunt instruments for placement of fat tissue. With LipoStructure®, no sharp instruments are placed under the skin.

Will the fat move after it is placed by LipoStructure®?

Your body accepts the fat as an integral part of you unlike silicone or other non-living implants. With LipoStructure® the fat immediately anchors to the surrounding tissues. Once it has a blood supply, the fat is extremely stable.

Why would I want fat in my face?

As you age and lose the fullness of youth, your face literally gets smaller. The skin remains the same size, but without the underlying structure, your skin retreats into wrinkles. As the missing structure under the skin is restored with LipoStructure®, the wrinkles will disappear.

Why does Dr. Coleman ask for patients to bring in photographs of their youth?

To make a person look more like they did when they were young, Dr. Coleman must know how a patient's face has changed over the years. He studies old photographs to determine the volumes and shapes needed to restore the healthy, desirable structure of youth.

What if I don't want to look younger?

The goal is to look healthier and more desirable. After speaking with you about your concerns, Dr. Coleman will often suggest that you find photographs of celebrities, relatives or other persons whom you resemble and that you find attractive. This gives Dr. Coleman a chance to understand what you consider desirable.

Why does Dr. Coleman take hundreds of photographs before procedures?

Dr. Coleman makes precise three-dimensional alterations in each patient; he does not feel surgery should be an assembly-line. Dr. Coleman studies these photos, to determine the volume and shape of the structural alteration that will give you the best result.

Why doesn't he just look at my face?

He does. But the hundreds of photos and the drawings he creates allow him to analyze your face with you to arrive at a plan that will give you the best result.

Why does Dr. Coleman take hundreds of photographs after procedures?

Dr. Coleman wants to be sure that he obtains the planned result on every patient and in every part of the face and body. Fat placed by his method is almost impossible to feel after the swelling subsides. The only objective way to demonstrate the change induced by the fat placement is to compare before and after photographs with the same lighting and same angles.