Regenerative Facelift in Brazil

You may notice that your jawline looks heavier and, at the same time, that some areas have become hollow. Your skin texture may have changed, too. A single word, sagging, doesn’t necessarily explain all of that.

That observation is where my planning starts. I assess position, volume, and the skin surface separately, then look at how those choices fit together. I want the result to look coherent from the front, in profile, and when you smile.

I call it regenerative when the plan combines the deep plane facelift with the patient’s own fat. The name helps describe the approach, but what matters is that you understand what each step can and cannot do.

I ask you to describe what you notice, without worrying about technical terms. Then I examine your face and neck and look at your expressions, skin quality, and how volume is distributed. Older photos can help show what has changed, especially after weight loss.

A fold may be related to tissue descent, to volume loss, or to both. Filling it without understanding that relationship can add volume where there is already heaviness. Likewise, repositioning an area does not automatically restore everything that has been lost.

That is why the plan is built from small, connected decisions. You should know where I propose to reposition, where I propose to add, and where I prefer to leave things as they are.

Fat tissue contains a range of cells and biological components. That makeup has prompted research into tissue repair and skin quality. However, finding cells or seeing an effect in the lab does not prove that everyone will get a particular skin improvement after surgery.

Nor do I describe conventional fat grafting as a cultured cell treatment. They are different preparations and different procedures. Used without explaining what will actually be done, the term “stem cells” can raise expectations beyond what the studies support.

You may also see the word regenerative attached to exosomes, tiny vesicles released by cells that are currently being studied. They are not part of the plan I describe here. The FDA, the U.S. regulatory agency, states that no exosome product is approved in the country. FDA consumer alert. In Brazil, Anvisa, the national health regulatory agency, makes clear that products applied by injection or microneedling cannot be registered as cosmetics. Anvisa information (in Portuguese). If someone offers you this kind of treatment, ask what the product is and how it is registered.

When we talk about your surgery, I translate the term into concrete steps: repositioning and, if indicated, fat grafting. Any possible additional effects on the skin are presented along with their limits.

Fat used for volume needs the right characteristics to take at the recipient site. Nanofat is processed differently and does not serve the same structural purpose. I explain these differences on the facial fat grafting page.

Harvesting requires a donor area and adds a step to the operation. I assess how much fat is available, any previous surgery in that area, and the care it will need afterward. I don’t consider this step automatically indicated just because you will already be under anesthesia.

Not all of the grafted fat stays. The systematic review by Gornitsky and colleagues included 43 studies and 4,577 patients with facial fat grafting and found average volume retention of 41.63%, with a mean follow-up of 13.9 months. Results vary widely between patients and techniques, and additional grafting can be discussed once things have settled. Review on facial fat grafting.

A complete proposal has to spell out both the expected benefit and the extra recovery involved, so that your decision about adding fat grafting is an informed one.

I may combine deep neck surgery or blepharoplasty when I find changes that justify them. These procedures are not another word for regeneration, and they shouldn’t be added just to make the plan bigger.

The neck may call for evaluation of structures beneath the platysma; the eyelids may need attention to excess skin, bags, and eye closure. Each area brings its own decisions, limits, and risks.

At the consultation, I lay out the whole plan so you can see the purpose of each procedure. If a step doesn’t make sense to you, we talk through what including it or leaving it out would mean.

Early on, swelling and bruising can make the result hard to read. The fat goes through integration and partial reabsorption while the repositioned tissues settle. I don’t judge the success of the whole surgery by the first photo taken after the dressings come off.

Follow-up visits let me check symmetry, healing, contour, and comfort. Any adjustments are discussed only when your recovery has reached the right point. The patient journey page shows how I organize this follow-up over the course of a year.

If you are traveling from out of town, planning your trips and follow-up visits is part of the initial decision. An online consultation can start the conversation, but the plan has to be confirmed in person.

The combination carries the risks of both the facelift and fat grafting: hematoma, infection, changes in sensation or movement, poor scarring, asymmetry, irregularities, and variable reabsorption. Fat can cause lumps and, in severe vascular complications, visual or neurological impairment. Review of fat grafting complications.

Numbers help put the risks in perspective, but they don’t predict your outcome. The 2026 meta-analysis by Koroma and colleagues pooled 45 studies and 10,784 patients who had a deep plane facelift: complications in 6.6%, temporary facial nerve weakness in 1.2%, and hematoma in 1.8%. Deep plane meta-analysis. In Gornitsky’s review of facial fat grafting, reported complications totaled 2.27%, mainly asymmetry and irregularities.

The result is not permanent in the sense of stopping time: aging continues after surgery, and the grafted fat that survives changes along with your body, including when your weight changes.

I don’t set out to erase every wrinkle, stop aging, or replace skin care. Nor does adding more procedures guarantee any extra benefit.

I want you to see the reasoning behind the plan and have room to decide. Care starts with that clarity and continues through surgery and your follow-up visits.