Hip Dip Fat Transfer Bellevue & Kirkland

The perfect hip contour is highly sought after because the last decade has seen the growing popularity of celebrities with wide, smoothly contoured hips. Thus, a focus on filling in an anatomical feature known as the “hip dips” has become something plastic surgeons are healing more often in consultations. Sometimes—depending on the patient’s goals and anatomy—this is easily achieved with a Brazilian butt lift. However, this is not always desired or possible. In this case, a more localized fat transfer is often recommended. Northwest Face & Body performs the best hip dip fat transfer Bellevue and Kirkland offer.

Understanding Hip Dip Fat Transfer

Hip dips—sometimes called violin hips—are formed by natural bone structure. Thus, while other body structures such as fat and muscle can contribute to the look of hip dips unless specifically targeted, they will not disguise hip dips. Therefore, a fat transfer procedure where your plastic surgeon can pinpoint the location of the fat removal and transfer allows for better treatment of hip dips.

Only a small amount of fat is generally necessary to fill in the hip dips. Though with precise liposuction, your Bellevue plastic surgeon can sculpt the body to create a smoother contour between the waist, hips, and buttocks. This usually includes getting rid of your hip dips.

The exact length and extent of the procedure depend on the number of liposuction and transfer areas. If only undergoing a few areas of lipo and only having the fat transferred to the hip dips, the procedure can only take a couple of hours. On average the procedure ranges somewhere between two and four hours.

Benefits & Risks Of Fat Transfer

A fat transfer procedure to treat hip dips comes with many benefits. Since fat transfer occurs at several other places along the body, plastic surgeons can use similar techniques to safely transfer the fat to the hips. Some of the benefits of fat transfer to the hip dips include:

• Reduce the appearance of hip dips
• Smoother transition from hips to buttocks
• Fuller buttocks (if desired)
• Create an hourglass figure
• Enhancement of liposuction areas
• Removal of unwanted fat
• Effective for patients of many sizes
• Minimally invasive liposuction
• Use of patient’s fat reduces the risk of allergic reaction and rejection
• Natural looking and feeling results
• Little to no scarring
• Combinable with other surgeries such as mommy makeover, BBL, and other fat transfer surgeries
• Low risk and effective
• Long lasting, if not permanent, results
• Performed by an experienced plastic surgeon who specializes in body contouring

Paired with benefits come risks. All surgical or medical procedures come with some basic risks. When it comes to hip dip fat transfer, the risks are fairly minor. However, it is important to understand them as well as individual risks before the procedure. Some of the risks of a fat transfer procedure include:

• Infection
• Scarring
• Lumps or bumps
• Fat failing to take in transferred area
• Prolonged or worsening of side effects such as swelling or bruising
• Bleeding
• Fluid collection
• Fat migration

Certain people such as smokers or those with serious medical conditions may be at a higher risk of certain risks and adverse effects. Your plastic surgeon will discuss this with you during your consultation.

Fat Transfer vs. Hip Implants

While the fat transfer method is the most popular surgical option for hip augmentation today, some patients inquire about hip implants since they are designed to be a strictly permanent procedure. At Northwest Face & Body, we do not typically place or recommend hip implants, but it is something you can discuss with your plastic surgeon during your consultation. The table below compares the two surgeries to help you determine the right one for you.

Fat Transfer

• Donor far from patient’s body
• Minimal incisions
• Helps contour other parts of the body to accentuate the hips
• Looks and feels natural
• Can address only the hip dips or entire hips as desired
• Subtler results
• Less risk of complications
• Permanent, but only if you maintain a stable weight. Major weight fluctuations can alter results
• Need body fat that can be harvested for the transfer
• Faster, less painful recovery

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Hip Implants

• Uses silicone implant
• Larger incisions
• Only addresses hip contour and size
• Depending on starting anatomy, may not look or feel entirely natural
• Can resolve hip dips, but almost always treats the whole hip
• More dramatic results
• More risk of complications
• Permanent (assuming implants do not need to be removed for some reason)
• Do not need a specific amount of body fat
• Longer recovery

Fat transfer has become the preferred method in most cases because of the natural looking results. It also has overall lower complication rates and side effects. Still, there are times when hip implants may be right for a specific patient in a specific circumstance.

Hip Dip Fat Transfer Surgery

When you come to Northwest Face & Body on surgery day, the surgical team will begin preparing you for surgery. During this process, you will meet with your plastic surgeon who will review the surgical plan and may make markings. From there, a licensed anesthesia provider will place you under general anesthesia.

Your surgeon will start with liposuction. Using small incisions hidden in natural folds or where undergarments typically cover, your plastic surgeon will remove fat. This involves moving the liposuction cannula back and forth underneath the skin.

Once he has enough fat to transfer to the hip dips, he will then purify the fat of blood and use a small cannula to inject the fat into the hip dips. After achieving your desired results, you will slowly begin to wake up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Hip Dip Surgery Dangerous?

All surgeries come with some risks. However, overall, a hip dip fat transfer is a relatively safe and low risk surgery when performed on ideal candidates. The surgeons at Northwest Face & Body all have vast experience with fat transfer procedures. Additionally, they screen all patients for risk factors and create a personalized surgical plan for safe surgery based on a patient’s health and anatomy.

Do Hip Dips Go Away When You Lose Weight?

Since a person’s bone structure is the cause of hip dips, losing weight will not usually get rid of hip dips. It may help reduce their visibility, but in other cases, it can accentuate them. The same goes for weight gain. Hip dips appear on people of all shapes and sizes and thus hip dips have less to do with overall weight and more with the distribution of fat and basic anatomy.

Are The Results Permanent?

Fat transfer results tend to last several years. Though, since the fat transferred acts like all other fat on your body, it is susceptible to weight changes. If you lose a significant amount of weight, you could lose weight in the hip region and see the dips appear again. Similarly, if you gain weight in certain areas, this can also bring the hip dips back. 

While normal weight fluctuation should not affect results, it is important to maintain your weight. Exercise and a healthy, balanced diet should be enough to maintain your results. Of course, outside factors can influence weight and this should be taken into account before surgery to help manage your expectations.

In most cases, the results are essentially permanent and patients can enjoy their results for years or decades to come. Your plastic surgeon can further discuss this during your consultation.

Is There A Non-Surgical Option?

Yes, similar to options for a non-surgical BBL, Sculptra injections can help fill in the hip dips. This is not permanent and will need to be followed up in about two to three years. Though, it can improve the look of the hip dips long term via increased collagen production in the area.

In general, this technique is only recommended for patients with too little fat for a fat transfer procedure. Most patients will not fit this demographic.

Do I Need A Lot Of Fat To Fill In The Hip Dips?

It depends on your anatomy. Though, compared to other areas like the buttocks or breasts, hip dips do not require as much fat. However, your plastic surgeon can remove more fat than is necessary for the transfer to sculpt the body if desired. If you have little fat though, you may still have enough for a transfer to the hip dips since it often does not require much.

The Best Hip Dip Surgery At Northwest Face & Body

Northwest Face & Body has provided the Eastside with leading plastic surgery procedures since 1983. Always on top of the newest advancements in plastic and cosmetic surgery, our surgeons offer their expertise and skill to patients. Northwest Face & Body performs the best hip dip fat transfer Bellevue and Kirkland offer.

Specializing in liposuction and fat grafting procedures, our plastic surgeons can determine if you are a good candidate. They also will take the time to understand your specific goals to craft the fat transfer technique best suited to them. Your plastic surgeon can also discuss all of the options available for correcting your hip dips, including both surgical and non-surgical ones.

To learn more about fat transfer to the hip dips or schedule a consultation, call us at 425-576-1700. You can also connect with us online via chat, contact form, or the Price Simulator app.