Researchers at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston report that they’ve identified the most effective technique for harvesting adipose tissue to use in autologous fat-grafting procedures.
Tejaswi Iyyanki, et al., note that the success of an autologous fat graft partially depends on its total stromal vascular fraction (SVF) and adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs), and that little research has been done to understand variations in yields of ASCs and SVF cells using different harvesting techniques and donor sites. Thus the researchers set out to correct that shortcoming in the literature.
Using mechanical liposuction, direct surgical excision or Coleman’s technique with or without centrifugation, the researchers harvested subcutaneous fat tissues from the abdomen, flank or axilla of patients of various ages. Cells were isolated and then analyzed using flow cytometry to determine the yields of total SVF cells and ASCs, which were then assessed for difference using one-way variance analysis.
Study Results
The study authors found that compared with Coleman’s technique without centrifugation, direct excision yielded significantly more ASCs and total SVF cells; liposuction yielded significantly fewer ASCs and total SVF cells; and Coleman’s technique with centrifugation yielded significantly more total SVF cells, but not ASCs. The team also found that the total number of SVF cells in fat harvested from the abdomen was significantly larger than the number in fat harvested from the flank or axilla.
Researchers conclude: “Adipose tissue harvested from the abdomen through direct excision or Coleman’s technique with centrifugation was found to yield the most SVF cells and ASCs.”
This study was published in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal.
