Will Insurance Cover Fat Transfers

The most common question people usually ask before considering any surgical procedure is “Will health insurance cover the costs?” Most health insurances cover the costs of medically necessary procedures and any emergency procedures. However, when it comes to cosmetic surgery and its complications, most health insurances usually do not cover any of the associated costs.

One of the most common cosmetic procedures undergone by patients is the fat transfer or Liposculpture. Because of the cosmetic purposes of fat transfer, health insurances do not cover its cost. However, if you have a medical deformity and the procedure is done for reconstructive purposes, health insurance coverage may be applicable. The final decision whether or not your procedure is worth the coverage will still depend on your insurance.

So why does the fat transfer procedure considered cosmetic in nature? It is apparently considered cosmetic in nature since its main purpose is to make your body and facial contours shapelier and more proportionate all over. It makes you look good and enhances some of your facial features and body parts.

The procedure involves extraction of fat from body areas overindulged with it as well as transferring some of it to other parts of the body depressed by lack of “filling.” Some of the most common body parts where the fat is extracted from include the abdomen, buttocks, and thighs. The fat is injected in some of the areas which the patient wanted to enhance includes the cheeks, lips, breasts, and chin.

Fat transfer procedures do not usually have the same amount of risks and complications involved unlike with other cosmetic procedures. This is mainly because of the body’s non-existent reaction against the fat injected. Since it came from the patient’s body, the fat will not be regarded as a foreign or unnatural material unlike some artificially made body and facial implants.

After the procedure, the patient will be required to wear compression garment over the body part where the fat was extracted from. Some swelling and bruising may be present within the next seven days of recovery but it will subside easily. The patient can even get back to work one day after the procedure. Others prefer going back to work after a week.

The only downside of any fat transfer procedure is the need for subsequent follow up treatments in order to maintain one’s new look. The reason for this is the normal reaction of the body which includes fat absorption after a months or a few years after the procedure, depending on the body parts injected with the fat.