Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 23, 2026
Mechanical Micronization of Lipoaspirates for Regenerative Therapy
Published on: March 15, 2019
Wet and dry techniques for structural fat graft harvesting: histomorphometric and cell viability assessments of
Tommaso Agostini1, Davide Lazzeri, Alessandro Pini
1Florence and Pisa, Italy From the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive and the Department of Anatomy, Histology, and Forensic Medicine, Section of Histology, University of Florence, and the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Hospital of Pisa.
Background:
Autologous fat transplantation is among the surgical procedures performed most commonly by plastic surgeons for cosmetic and/or reconstructive purposes. In the procedure, autologous fat is harvested and infiltrated during the same operation, and the success of this procedure relies on harvesting and transferring viable adipocytes. This study was designed to assess the histomorphometric characteristics and viability of the lipoaspirated cells that were harvested through different techniques.
Methods:
This study enrolled 65 patients undergoing lipofilling for reconstructive purposes. Subcutaneous fat samples were collected manually through the wet and dry techniques using a two-hole Coleman blunt cannula attached to a 10-cc Luer-Lok syringe. Fat tissue preservation was assessed through conventional histomorphometry and a cell viability assessment, evaluating the mitochondrial function through the MTS CellTiter 96 Aqueous One Solution Assay (Promega Corp., Madison, Wis.).
Results:
No differences were observed between adipocyte samples harvested with or without tumescent solution. The morphometric analysis and adipocyte viability assessment confirmed the visual findings: the mean surface area and shape (circularity index) of the adipocytes were not significantly different in the lipoaspirate collected through the different techniques.
Conclusion:
The results from the present study provide the first histologic evidence and cell viability assessment to demonstrate that there are no substantial differences in the adipose tissue specimens harvested with the wet and dry techniques.
Clinical Question/Level Of Evidence:
Therapeutic, V.
