Summary
Background
Even though fat grafting has become widely used by plastic surgeons, most surgeons
choose their method of fat grafting based almost entirely on anecdotal evidence. As
more and more scientific studies appear in the literature, we now may have more objective,
scientific evidence to support the use of specific techniques.
Methods
The author critically reviewed all studies related to fat grafting research in the
last 20 years in the English literature. To better summarize the findings of the studies,
the fat grafting procedure was arbitrarily divided into 4 essential parts to determine
the best donor sites and how the fat grafts should be harvested, processed, and placed.
Results
While most studies show no difference in the viability of fat grafts harvested from
different donor sites, one study shows that more adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs)
are found within the fat grafts harvested from the lower abdomen or inner thigh. Fat
grafts harvested with syringe aspiration and processed with centrifugation at 1200 g
for 3 min clearly have better viability. In addition, viable adipocytes and ADSCs
as well as growth factors can be concentrated within the fat grafts after proper centrifugation.
The studies also reinforce the principle that fat grafts, once placed, should have
a maximal amount of contact with the vascularized tissue in the recipient site for
better survival.
Conclusions
Most scientific studies in fat grafting research support a more rationalized technique
that should be selected by surgeons for fat grafting. The technique includes proper
selection of donor sites, proper harvest and process of fat grafts, and proper placement
of fat grafts.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 24, 2011
Accepted:
September 21,
2011
Received:
June 3,
2011
Footnotes
☆Presented in part at the 20th Congress of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, San Francisco, CA, August 14–18, 2010, at the Second World Congress for Plastic Surgeons of Chinese Descent, Taipei, Taiwan, October 29–31, 2010 and at the 16th World Congress of the International Confederation for Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Vancouver, Canada, May 22–27, 2011.
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
