Fatter Is Better: Boosting the Vascularization of Adipose Tissue Grafts.

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Adipose tissue resorption after fat grafting is a major drawback in plastic and reconstructive surgery, which is primarily caused by the insufficient blood perfusion of the grafts in the initial phase after transplantation. To overcome this problem, several promising strategies to boost the vascularization and, thus, increase survival rates of fat grafts have been developed in preclinical studies in recent years. These include the angiogenic stimulation of the grafts by growth factors and botulinum neurotoxin A, biologically active gels, and cellular enrichment, as well as the physical and pharmacological stimulation of the transplantation site. To transfer these approaches into future clinical practice, it will be necessary to establish standardized procedures for their safe application in humans. If this succeeds, the surgical outcomes of fat grafting may be markedly improved, resulting in a significant reduction of the physical and psychological stress for the patients.

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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