Facial rejuvenation: Serial fat graft transfer

Abstract

Autologous fat transfer is a century-old method for both aesthetic and reconstructive purposes. It is considered by many plastic surgeons the ideal body filler. The only disadvantage is its variable degree of resorption, which ranged from 45% to 80%. Various groups have studied the effects of cryo-preservation for fat storage, the advantage being that fat harvesting need only be performed once, and thereafter fat injections can be performed using stored fat as an outpatient service. This a clinical study carried out to test the aesthetic outcome of serial injection of the cryo-preserved fat cells for both aesthetic and reconstructive purposes.
Methods: Clinical evaluation was performed under standardized condition for serial lipofilling between October 2003 and May 2012, and 364 autologous fat transfers were performed in 104 patients ranging in age from 18 to 69 years (mean age 34 years).
Results: The postoperative clinical results favored the use of serial fat transfer because the aesthetic and structural results were stable up to 90% of the initial volume more than a year after initial transfer.
Conclusion: Our data suggest that serial transfer of the cryo-preserved fat leads to better cosmetic results on the basis of outpatient service without increasing the financial burden for our patients.