Fatgrafting Wounds
The enormous effect of autologous lipotransfer on wound healing – a relatively easy-to-perform, cost-effective, and well tolerated procedure.
In a new study published in PRS 2015*, the authors T. Stasch et al. investigated the use of autologous lipotransfer for treatment of chronic diabetic and other foot and lower limb ulcers. “Twenty-six patients with non-healing wounds were treated with surgical débridement and autologous lipotransfer (using the débridement and autologous lipotransfer method). The mean age of the wounds before intervention was 16.7 months. Wound size after débridement averaged 5.1 ± 2.6 cm2. On average, 7.1 ± 3.3 cc of lipoaspirate was transferred into the wound area.”
Results: “Twenty-two of 25 wounds (88 percent) healed completely within a mean of 68.0 ± 33.0 days. A reduction of wound size by 50 percent was achieved after an average of 4 weeks. In one patient with an ulcer within particularly scarred tissues on the lower limb, a repeated session of lipotransfer led to complete wound healing after another 4 weeks.”
Conclusion: “The authors describe a simple and useful technique to improve wound healing in diabetic feet and chronic lower limb ulcers with a background of peripheral vascular disease, where other interventional options to achieve wound healing have failed.”
Problem wounds on the lower extremity responding to lipotransfer.
- Diabetic feet.
- Pressure sores.
- Peripheral vascular disease.
- Chronic scars.
- Burn wounds.
- Post surgical wounds.
- Post traumatic wounds.
Fatgrafting & Chronic Wounds
Adipose-derived stem cells which are contained within the transplanted fat have been shown to have a positive impact on wound healing, as they not only release growth factors and wound-healing peptides, but also induce new blood vessel formation and fibroblasts, in addition to inhibiting the production of inflammatory cytokines and stimulation of the production of antiinflammatory cytokines.
Fatgrafting wounds works:
- Debridement and Autologous Lipo-Transfer can heal chronic wounds/ulcers very effectively.
- Chronic lower limb and foot ulcers can be DEALT with to form stable tissue.
- Viable fat tissue with high content of adipose stem cells is harvested with conventional liposuction techniques.
- Protect granulation tissue (limited weight bearing/use of special orthopedic shoes or inlays).
- Repeat lipofilling when no further progression observed.
- Wounds > 10 cm2 can be skin grafted when reepithelization takes too long.
