Nanofat is a new concept in fat grafting, which enables the physician to treat very fine lines and thinning skin associated with aging using very tiny parcels of the matrix and it’s a stromal vascular fraction, which includes cells, growth factors, and other regenerative material.

Stromal vascular fraction was first used in cosmetics by Dr. Steven Cohen in 2003. In a small study of 8 patients, stromal vascular fraction (a type of Nanofat) was injected in the fine lip lines and the smile lines of the face. Below is one of the original study patients seen 6 years later after Nanofat injection.

There are 6 steps in obtaining Nanofat from all of us:

1. Local anesthesia and a needle puncture in the skin as when you have blood drawn.
2. A small amount of local anesthetic is introduced using a rounded cannula which is gentler than a needle.
3. Withdrawal of one or two syringes, a little larger than the tubes used for a blood draw.
4. The fat is washed with a device invented by Dr. Cohen along with Drs. Tonnard and Verpaele and Tulip Medical, a local San Diego company.
5. The fat is progressively made into smaller microscopic parcels of fat by a special device.
6. The microscopic parcels of fat are further modified into Nanofat by passing through 2 screens of different sizes.

Nanofat can be used in patients for superficial fat replacement to restore thinning skin to a more youthful condition. From studies in Italy, stromal vascular fraction and nanofat will reverse some of the architectural changes in elastin and collagen, actually showing regeneration of the tissues. Nanofat has been shown to improve hair growth in men and women with thinning in the early stages of alopecia (baldness) as well as to improve the appearance of scars and heal certain wounds. The underlying cause of these changes appears to be an increase in the blood supply to the tissues.

At FACES+ we use Nanofat and stromal vascular enriched fat as a tissue graft for:

1. fine lines, forehead rejuvenation, smoker lines around the lips (perioral rhytids),
2. sun damage, often in combination with fractional lasers (Nanofat Laser),
3. Nanofat Microneedling for deep dermal delivery, for acne, scars.

In addition, we use Nanofat during Laser Resurfacing to deliver growth factors, stem cells and other regenerative cells into the skin much as platelet rich plasma (PRP) is used. The main difference is PRP has smaller amounts of growth factors and tends to increase the blood supply, but does not regenerate elastin and collagen nearly as much as Nanofat and Stromal Vascular Fraction.

Dr. Cohen recently spoke on his work at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and also presented his concepts of Re-defining the Fat Graft into different types based on their injection characteristics and their additives. Dr. Cohen’s new invention for fat processing, emulsification and nanofat has received accolades from colleagues around the world and will likely be on the market by Tulip Medical by the first quarter of 2017. Tulip Medical is the leading producer of disposable fat harvesting, processing and delivery devices in the world. In addition, Dr. Cohen is working closely with Millenium Medical Technologies on refining their ability to mechanically dissociate stromal vascular fraction with a device that is simple to use under local anesthesia.

Full Facial Fat Grafting with Nanofat can be performed at the time of laser treatment, facelift, eyelid rejuvenation or as a stand alone procedure under local anesthesia. Fat grafting of the hands may be performed at the same time if desired.

For more information or to schedule a consult, please contact our office. [email protected]  |  858-453-7224