Fat Injections to the Hands, North Carolina*

The back of the hand skin often show early signs of aging with thinning and exposure of tendons and veins that may give away an otherwise youthful appearance. Fat transfer to the hands is not a very common procedure but can be quite effective in rejuvenating the dorsum or back of the hand. This 39-year-old woman noted some thinning of the tissues over the dorsum of her hand. She desired cosmetic improvements. Her skin itself was not sun damaged and there was just a little bit of thinning of the soft tissue. During another procedure to perform liposuction some of the fat was separated and processed to allow for transfer to the dorsum of her hands. Only 8 cc was utilized on each hand but it was enough to show a difference. She felt that the hands look more youthful with less obvious prominence of the veins and tendons. Fat transfer to the hands can be done as an isolated procedure often under local anesthetic as the amount of fat harvest necessary is minimal the amount of fat transfer is also usually fairly minimal. Local anesthetic with or without some sedation is usually sufficient. This procedure can also be added on to larger procedures. Postoperative swelling is to be expected for several weeks and some degree of fat resorption may occur. Finer fat particles are necessary in this procedure to avoid clumping and placement of the fat is done with fine cannulas in a blunt atraumatic fashion.