title: Autologous fat transplantation versus adipose-derived stem cell-enriched lipografts: a study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Several techniques for lipoinjection have been described in the literature. Recently, the role of adult stem cells in adipose tissue has gained interest.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The authors compare autologous fat transplantation to adipose-derived stem cell-enriched lipografts.
  
  
  METHODS
  A group of 20 patients with congenital or acquired facial tissue defects were included in this study and randomly divided into two groups. Ten patients were treated with autologous fat transplantation (Group A; 12-165 mL per session), and the remaining ten were treated with adipose-derived stem cell-enriched lipografts (Group B; 8-155 mL per session). Overall patient satisfaction after both treatments was evaluated at six, 12, and 18 months after the initial surgical procedure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In Group A, three patients achieved aesthetically-acceptable results after the first treatment; the remaining seven patients required additional sessions. In Group B, all patients required only one treatment. Analysis of patient satisfaction in the first six months clearly demonstrated better results in Group B. However, by the 18-month evaluation, there was no statistical difference between the two groups in terms of patient satisfaction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Adipose-derived stem cell-enriched lipografts produced aesthetically-acceptable results without the need for repeat treatment sessions, which are necessary with autologous fat transplantation. Further long-term studies are necessary to confirm the favorable results seen in this study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. aris@sterodimas.com
authors.forename: Aris
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sterodimas
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de Faria
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nicaretta
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Boriani
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism / Q000637:transplantation*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005145:Face / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult