Rhinoplasty with Simultaneous Autologous Full-Face Fat Transfer for Asian Facial Contouring Balance: A Retrospective Study

An Y, Wang G, Li X, Zhen Y, Zhao J, Li D.

PubMed 36042025 Publisher (DOI)Free full text (PMC)

What this paper says

In 20 Asian patients having rhinoplasty combined with whole face fat grafting, nasal length and projection increased significantly and the median nasolabial angle fell from 106 to 101 degrees, with no complications reported.

Overview

Facial contouring procedures have become increasingly popular in Asian populations, but there is little published assessment of rhinoplasty combined with whole face fat grafting. The study evaluated that combination objectively using three dimensional measurement alongside patient reported outcomes. Patients treated between January 2016 and July 2019 were recruited retrospectively.

Sections of note

Retrospective study of 20 patients; the journal assigns level of evidence IV.
Average follow up was 10.2 months, range 6 to 24 months.
Nasal length and the nasal protrusion rate increased significantly after surgery, P less than 0.05.
The median nasolabial angle fell from 106 to 101 degrees, closer to the authors' stated standard of 90 to 100 degrees.
Surface projection images of the whole face showed increased volume in the forehead, temple, inner cheek and chin regions.
Satisfaction was assessed with a surgeon scale, the Rhinoplasty Outcome Evaluation, and the FACE-Q overall facial and rhinoplasty scales.
All cases achieved satisfactory outcomes on those measures.
No intraoperative or postoperative complications occurred.

What it means for a patient

The nose and the rest of the face were treated in one operation, using the patient's own fat for the facial regions.
The nose was lengthened and projected while surrounding areas were filled, changing overall facial proportion rather than the nose alone.
Twenty patients with no comparison group cannot show that combining the procedures is better than doing either alone.
Follow up averaged about 10 months, which is short for fat grafting, since transferred fat is partly absorbed over time.

Why this paper matters

Facial proportion is judged as a whole, and changing the nose alters how surrounding features read. This study measures the combined approach with three dimensional imaging. How much of the grafted fat persists beyond a year is not addressed.

Terms

Autologous fat transfer: moving the patient's own fat from one part of the body to another.
Facial contouring: reshaping the surface of the face by adding or removing volume.
Nasal protrusion rate: a measure of how far the nose projects relative to its length.
Nasolabial angle: the angle between the base of the nose and the upper lip.
FACE-Q: a validated questionnaire on satisfaction with facial appearance.
Three dimensional measurement: measuring facial dimensions from a digital scan.

Summary written by rhinoplasty.cc from the abstract, 2026-09-09; not medical advice. The authors' own abstract follows.

Abstract

Background: The aesthetic facial contouring procedures have gained an increasing popularity in the Asian population. Nevertheless, currently, there are few specific literature assessments and studies on the outcomes of rhinoplasty combined with full-face fat graft contouring. To conduct an objective evaluation of the efficacy of Asian rhinoplasty combined with autologous facial fat transfer in terms of 3-dimensional measurement and patient-reported outcomes.

Methods: Patients who underwent rhinoplasty combined with full-face fat transfer for facial contouring between January 2016 and July 2019 were recruited in the study. The preoperative and postoperative clinical variables and 3-dimensional measurement of patients were also collected. The satisfaction outcome of surgeons and patients was assessed.

Results: Twenty patients completed rhinoplasty with full-face fat transfer. The average postoperative follow-up was 10.2 months (range 6-24 months). The nasal length, and the nasal protrusion rate were significantly increased (p < 0.05) after surgery, and the median number of nasolabial angles decreased from 106° to 101°, which was closer to the aesthetic standard of 90°-100°. The topographical projection images of whole face indicated that the volume of frontal, temporal, inner cheek and chin regions were increased obviously. All cases received satisfaction outcome based on surgeons' satisfaction scale, ROE scale, FACE-Q overall facial satisfaction scale, and FACE-Q Rhinoplasty scale. Additionally, no patients had intraoperative or postoperative complications.

Conclusions: Rhinoplasty combined with full-face fat transfer is a reliable and effective method of augmenting and contouring the facial convexity in the Asian populations.

Level Of Evidence Iv: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Abstract as indexed by PubMed; the article is open access (PubMed Central).