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Aging News & Information
Theory of Aging Facial Fat Gets a Facelift from New
Research
Fat spots on face age at different rates, say medical
researchers
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Drs. Rod Rohrich (right) and Joel Pessa
have discovered that the human face is made up of individual fat
compartments that gain and lose fat at different times and different.
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Aug. 6, 2007 The longstanding idea that the
entire human face ages uniformly is in need of a facelift, say
researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center who have found that
multiple, distinct compartments of fat in the face age at different
rates.
The findings, published in a recent issue of
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, challenge previously held theories
regarding aging and may offer new ways to help turn back the clock, UT
Southwestern plastic surgeons say.
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For hundreds of years, everyone has believed that
the fat on the face is one confluent mass, which eventually gets weighed
down by gravity, creating sagging skin, said Dr. Joel Pessa, assistant
professor of plastic surgery and the studys lead author.
In our studies, however, we were surprised to find
that this is not the case; the face is made up of individual fat
compartments that gain and lose fat at different times and different
rates as we age.
The study involved injecting different types of dye
into facial cavities of 30 cadavers.
Despite at least 24 hours of settling time, the
dye, rather than permeating the entire face, stayed in separate areas
showing that individual facial compartments have boundaries between them
that act like fences. These fences, which seem to be composed of fibrous
tissue, allow the face to maintain its blood supply should it become
injured.
Dr. Pessa said the face resembles a
three-dimensional puzzle, with fat divided into distinct units around
the forehead, eyes, cheeks and mouth. Facial aging is, in part,
characterized by how these separate compartments change as we grow
older.
A youthful face is characterized by a smooth
transition between these compartments. As people age, contour changes
occur between these regions due to volume losses and gains as well as
repositioning of the compartments. Eventually, this can result in
sagging or hollowed skin and wrinkles.
This is a revolutionary way of viewing facial
anatomy. It not only tells us how we age, it shows us why we age the way
we do, and why every part of the face, from the eyelids to the cheeks,
ages differently, said Dr. Rod Rohrich, chairman of plastic surgery and
senior author of the study.
This will help plastic surgeons around the world
not only understand how we can better rejuvenate the face, but how
people age as a physiological process.
This breakthrough could have tremendous
implications in helping plastic surgeons target facial trouble areas
and use injectible fillers to add volume to individual sections of the
face. It could also aid in developing new and improved cosmetic and
reconstructive surgery techniques, Dr. Rohrich said.
Understanding how fat is compartmentalized will
allow us to be very accurate and precise in how we approach facial
rejuvenation, Dr. Pessa said. This gives us an algorithm, or
scientific approach, to help ascertain what areas of the face may need
extra fat to combat the aging process. It also is a major breakthrough
in facial anatomy that will have major implications for future studies
on aging and possibly hold clues to the study of other diseases such as
obesity, diabetes and cancer.
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