Selection of donor site for fat grafting and cell isolation

Autologous fat grafting has rapidly become an important treatment for soft tissue defects in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. However, consensus is lacking on the ideal donor site for harvesting and isolating stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells to improve survival of fat grafts. We aimed to determine the best donor site for tissue harvesting and isolation of SVF cells for fat graft survival.

Adipose tissue samples were harvested from six women who underwent an aesthetic procedure. The samples were harvested by needle aspiration of five commonly used donor sites: flank, upper and lower abdomen, and lateral and inner thigh. The adipose tissue was injected subcutaneously into nude mice and grafts were harvested at 12 weeks. We evaluated graft volume, weight, and histologic parameters of the grafts: integrity, cysts/vacuoles, inflammation, fibrosis, and neovascularization. SVF cells isolated from donor sites were counted and assayed by flow cytometry.

At 12 weeks post-transplantation, weight, volume, and histologic parameters did not differ among the grafts from the five tissue donor sites. Also, SVF and levels of cell surface markers did not differ by donor site.

This study revealed no ideal tissue donor site for fat grafting and SVF isolation. Choosing a site should be based on ease and safety of access and the preference and request of the patient.

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