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Updated: Apr 29, 2026
Stromal Vascular Fraction-enriched Fat Grafting for the Treatment of Symptomatic End-neuromata
Published on: November 23, 2017
Autologous fat grafting alleviates burn-induced neuropathic pain in rats
Shu-Hung Huang1, Sheng-Hua Wu, Kao-Ping Chang
1Kaohsiung, Taiwan From the Graduate Institute of Medicine, the Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, and the Department and Graduate Institute of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University; the Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University; and the Department of Anesthesia, Kaohsiung Municipal Hsiao-Kang Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University.
Background:
The management of neuropathic pain after burn injury is a critical clinical issue. Autologous fat grafting has been shown to alleviate neuropathic pain in certain cases, but has not been shown to alleviate the pain associated with burn-induced scars. The authors assessed the effectiveness of autologous fat grafting for the management of pain in burn-induced scars.
Methods:
One paw of the experimental rats received a third-degree burn using a heated metal block. Neuropathic pain in the affected paw was assessed based on behavioral responses to thermal and mechanical stimuli. A graft (0.4 ml of autologous fat or a sham graft) was administered by injection to the burn scar and sham-burned paw. The animals were killed 4 weeks after the fat graft treatments; Masson trichrome stain of hind-paw skin and expression of phosphorylated p38 and OX42 in the dorsal horns of the spinal cords were examined.
Result:
The third-degree burns were completely healed at 4 weeks. Burn-induced scarring caused mechanical allodynia and increased the expression of phosphorylated p38 and OX42 in spinal cord dorsal horn microglial cells. Autologous fat grafting significantly alleviated mechanical allodynia (p < 0.05), and immunohistochemistry showed that the expression of phosphorylated p38 and OX42 was significantly lower in spinal cord dorsal horn microglial cells 4 weeks after fat grafting (p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
Autologous fat grafting is used daily in clinical practice. It is an effective treatment for the relief of burn-induced mechanical allodynia in rats. Further investigation of the clinical use of autologous fat grafting in burn patients is warranted.
