FAT GRAFTING
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Breast reconstruction is required to restore the shape and volume of the breast in post-cancer rehabilitation. Reconstruction procedure offered are silicone implants by surgery and non-surgical autologous fat tissue grafting. These methods are limited due to repeated procedures and costs for healthcare system, limiting the availability for patients.
Fat grafting, also called autologous fat transfer or autologous fat grafting. For fat grafting, fat tissue is removed from other parts of the body, usually from thighs, belly, and buttocks, by liposuction. A standard fat grafting technique is commonly performed in three stages: (i) harvesting of fat tissue from a suitable donor site; (ii) processing of the lipoaspirate to eliminate water, cellular debris, acellular oil and excess of infiltrated solution, (iii) reinjection of the purified fat tissue into the desired area in the body such like the breast area to restore the shape and volume of the breast.
This technique is a non-incisional procedure performed typically by a specialist physician or a plastic surgeon. Fat grafting technique is a procedure used to address the loss of volume in the face, breast, buttock or any other area in the body.
Fat grafting is emerging as a safe technique to restore the shape and volume of the breast. Since it works well, surgeons can rebuild a whole breast using fat. Since it is a minimally invasive procedure, doesn’t involve major surgery or risks and the patient can return to duty immediately after the procedure is performed, fat grafting is desired by patients. Fat grafting is also the preferred dermal filling method for plastic surgeons because human fat is an ideal filler because it is safe, not rejected, provides a natural appearance and last for life if successfully accepted.
The problem is that up to 80% of the injected fat is resorbed and disappears as quickly as within 2 months from the grafting procedure. Therefore, the plastic surgeon is required to perform repeated fat filling procedures in the breast with autologous fat to obtain the desired results. Repeated fat grafting procedures are painful, increase health-related risks and result in high treatment costs and suffering for the patient. Although preferred by plastic surgeons, accelerated fat resorption is the “Achille’s Heel” of the fat grafting technique for being widely in breast reconstruction. Currently, there are no solutions which prevent fat resorption following fat grafting. The insufficiency for a therapy which can prevent fat resorption and stop the repeated fat grafting procedures in breast reconstruction post-cancer is an unmet medical need.
Fat grafting is the new horizon of aesthetic medicine. The use of non-invasive aesthetic techniques in dermal filling continues to grow and primarily is favoring the growth of fat grafting market. The fat grafting market is estimated to grow dramatically in coming years, because it continues to gain popularity despite lack of standardized guidelines for harvesting, processing and reinjection. The primary reason behind the fact that fat grafting is getting popularity in soft tissue augmentation, is the opportunity offered to plastic surgeons to be on the forefront of aesthetic medicine. This can further open new opportunities and pave additional revenue streams for plastic surgeons in their practice. Fat grafting will continue to gain momentum as a cost-effective and relatively better solution over synthetic fillers. Fat grafting is also emerging as a promising and safer alternative to synthetic fillers for facial wrinkle removal and for breast augmentation.