Many plastic, dermatology and cosmetic surgeons offer various fat transfer procedures to their patients because the procedure is so well received by patients.

Although extremly rare, potential risks of any fat transfer include bleeding or hematoma, (a pool of blood forming under the skin), infection, nerve damage or wound dehiscence, when a surgical wound opens. Sometimes, fluid collection, or seroma, around a surgical wound happens. While all are normally easily controlled and healed, more serious complications can arise.

Overall, the survival of injected fat seems to depend on how the physician harvests the donor fat, the technique used to treat the fat and how the prepared fat cells are put back into the patient and the site to which the fat was moved. Doctors Summer and Sattler found that fat survives equally well when removed with suction via liposuction or when withdrawn by a syringe. The issue of survivability seems most affected by where in the body the fat is transferred, how much that site moves, how muscular it is and if disease is present.
When a large area like the buttocks is treated, the patient may have to stop normal activities for a while and can expect some swelling, bruising or redness.