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Fat Grafting St. Louis
Fat grafting restores the volume faces lose with age — using your own tissue rather than synthetic filler — performed by Dr. Brandon T. Beal, fellowship-trained in facial plastic & reconstructive surgery.
Double board-certified
Dermatology and Mohs micrographic surgery
Fellowship-trained
Facial plastic & reconstructive surgery — Zitelli & Brodland
Physician-owned
Independent practice — never corporate
Established 2020
Serving Troy, Lincoln County, and beyond
What is Fat Grafting?
Fat grafting — also called fat transfer — restores facial volume using your own tissue. A small amount of fat is gently harvested from a donor area such as the abdomen or thighs, carefully purified, and placed in precise amounts where the face has hollowed with age. Because it’s your own living tissue, there’s no allergy risk, and the fat that establishes a blood supply becomes a lasting part of your face.
What Fat Grafting Can Address
- Hollowed temples and flattened cheeks
- Under-eye hollows and the lid-cheek transition
- Deep folds and marionette lines softened by restored volume
- An overall gaunt or tired look that lifting alone doesn’t fix
Facial aging is two processes at once: tissue descends, and volume deflates. Lifting procedures address the first; fat grafting addresses the second — which is why the two are so often planned together.
Who is a Good Candidate?
Good candidates are healthy adults bothered by volume loss — hollowing, flattening, or a tired look — who want a longer-lasting, natural alternative or complement to synthetic fillers. Whether fat grafting alone, grafting combined with a lift, or fillers fit your goals best is exactly what a consultation determines.
The Fat Grafting Process
1
Consultation & Planning
You meet privately with Dr. Beal to discuss where you’ve noticed hollowing or volume loss. He maps where volume would restore — not exaggerate — your features, identifies a donor area, and covers anesthesia, logistics, and cost.
2
Harvest & Purification
A small amount of fat is gently harvested from the donor area through tiny access points, then carefully processed to concentrate the healthy fat cells most likely to survive transfer.
3
Precise Placement
The purified fat is placed in small, deliberate amounts at multiple levels — restoring the contours of the temples, cheeks, under-eye area, or wherever your plan calls for. Placement is where artistry and anatomy meet, and where Dr. Beal’s facial reconstructive training shows.
4
Healing & Results
Swelling settles over the first weeks. A portion of the transferred fat is naturally absorbed in the first few months — that’s expected and planned for — and the fat that establishes blood supply is long-lasting, aging with you like your own tissue, because it is. Results vary by individual.
Individualized careEvery surgical plan is individualized, and results vary. A consultation is required to determine whether fat grafting is right for you.
Fat Grafting or Fillers?
Both restore volume; they suit different situations. Dermal fillers are non-surgical, adjustable, and reversible in some cases — ideal for trying volume restoration on, or for smaller refinements — but they’re temporary and need maintenance. Fat grafting is a procedure, but it uses your own tissue, treats larger areas naturally, and its surviving volume is long-lasting. Many patients start with filler and graduate to fat; others combine grafting with a lift and never look back. Dr. Beal will give you a straight recommendation either way.
Often Combined With
Because lifting and volume restoration solve different halves of facial aging, fat grafting is frequently planned alongside a facelift or neck lift — and it pairs naturally with lower eyelid blepharoplasty to smooth the lid-cheek transition.
Why a Facial Reconstructive Surgeon for Fat Grafting
Fat grafting results live or die on placement — understanding facial anatomy in three dimensions and restoring volume where it actually belonged. Dr. Beal’s fellowship at Zitelli & Brodland trained him in facial plastic & reconstructive surgery, where rebuilding natural facial contour is the daily work. That anatomic depth, applied with a conservative philosophy, is what keeps grafted volume looking like you — only rested.
Schedule a Fat Grafting Consultation
A private consultation is the right first step — an honest look at where volume loss is driving the changes you see, and whether grafting, fillers, or a combined plan fits. We welcome patients from across the St. Louis region, including St. Charles and Lake St. Louis, at our Troy office — and our second location in Chesterfield. Call (314) 834-1400 or request a consultation online.
Common questions
Fat grafting FAQs.
How long does fat grafting last?
A portion of the transferred fat is naturally absorbed in the first few months — your plan accounts for that. The fat that establishes a blood supply is long-lasting: it behaves like the rest of your tissue because it is your tissue, aging with you naturally. Exact retention varies by individual and by area treated.
Where does the fat come from?
A donor area with a little to spare — commonly the abdomen, flanks, or thighs — chosen at your consultation. Only a small amount is needed for facial grafting, harvested gently through tiny access points; this isn’t body-contouring liposuction.
Is fat grafting safe?
Because the graft is your own living tissue, there’s no risk of allergic reaction to a foreign material. As with any procedure, there are surgical considerations, which Dr. Beal will review with you candidly — including how your health history affects candidacy.
Will my face look overfilled?
The overdone look comes from adding volume where it never belonged. Fat grafting done conservatively restores the contours your face had — placed anatomically, in measured amounts. Looking like yourself, rested, is the entire goal.
Is fat grafting covered by insurance? What does it cost?
Cosmetic fat grafting isn’t covered by insurance. Cost depends on the areas treated and whether grafting is combined with another procedure, so it’s quoted individually at your consultation — you’ll have clear numbers before making any decision.
Restore what time took.
Natural volume restoration with your own tissue. Private consultations with a fellowship-trained facial plastic surgeon. Troy, MO — and Chesterfield now open.