Clinical Efficacy of Mechanical Micronized Fat-Assisted Fat Grafting on Temporal Depression

Temporal concavities result from reduced subcutaneous fat and bone structure variations, impacting facial aesthetics. Filling treatments, including autologous fat grafts, synthetic fillers, and biological materials, are used for enhancement. Autologous fat grafting is promising but limited by unpredictable fat absorption and nonstandardized procedures. This study aims to assess the clinical effectiveness of mechanical micronized fat in combination with autologous granular fat grafting for lipofilling in the correction of temporal deformities.

Patients (n = 37, mean age = 37.48) with temporal concavity caused by aging and Inherently inadequate capacity were enrolled and divided into control group (n = 10) and study group (n = 9) according to different fat grafts. Control group received pure autologous granular fat, with an average volume of approximately 19.30 mL. In contrast, the study group used mechanical micronized fat along with autologous granular fat co-injection through an 18G needle with an average injection volume of about 18.89 mL. All autologous fat collected from patients' abdominal and thighs. Information, including postoperative clinical efficacy scored by various plastic surgeons for the comparison of preoperative and postoperative photos of patients, patient satisfaction, and complications between the two groups, was documented. Additionally, changes in patients' quality of life were evaluated using the FACE-Q scale.

Six months after surgery, the efficacy of temporal filling in the study group (6.69 ± 0.64) was higher than the control group (6.37 ± 0.67) (P = 0.0048). The patient satisfaction was more prominent in the study group (6.28 ± 0.87) than in the control group (5.80 ± 0.71) (P = 0.0449). Differences between above two observation indicators were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The FACE-Q scale items, which assess psychological health, social functioning, and early life impact, showed higher scores in the study group both before the surgery (psychological health: 59.22 ± 3.53, social functioning: 64.75 ± 3.15) and 6 months after the surgery (psychological health: 69.44 ± 4.50, social functioning: 75.33 ± 3.81, early life impact: 74.21 ± 0.70) (P > 0.05). Notably, only one micronodule formation was detected among all patients.

Mechanical micronized fat combined with autologous granular fat improve the clinical effect of treating concavity in temporal region, which is worthy of further promotion and application.