Does Stromal Vascular Fraction Ensure a Higher Survival in Autologous Fat Grafting for Breast Augmentation? A Volumetric Study Using 3-Dimensional Laser Scanning

Abstract

SVF does not ensure a higher survival rate in autologous fat grafting for breast augmentation. Considering the potential drawbacks of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSC) and the extra cost of the consumables, in particular the need for harvesting larger amount of fat which could be reserved for additional fat grafting at a later time to achieve even better improvement, the results of this study do not support the use of SVF in autologous fat grafting for breast augmentation in terms of graft survival and postoperative complications.

Autologous fat graft assisted by stromal vascular fraction improves facial skin quality: A randomized controlled trial

“…A huge variability exists in the observations of graft survival by different authors who used different methods. 26 In this study, the measured values correspond well to the true values, indicating the accuracy and credibility of the measurement based on a 3D scanner and Geomagic software. Our results showed that the survival rate of conventional autologous fat grafts was 56.2% ±9.5%, which was consistent with Tanikawa's facial lipofilling results.…”

Methods used for evaluation of volume retention rate in autologous fat grafting for breast augmentation

“…The database search retrieved 145 studies following removal of duplicates, of which 129 were excluded based on their title and abstract. After careful reading of the full manuscripts, 16 studies [11–26] met the inclusion criteria. Nevertheless, four of the 16 identified studies did not report concrete data of fat retention rate.…”

“…Chiu et al [11] compared the change in breast volume in patients who underwent SVF-concentrated fat grafting (group A) and those who underwent conventional fat grafting without SVF (group B) for breast augmentation by using a non-contact and portable 3D laser surface scanner (Konica Minolta Vivid 910 3 D, Konica Minolta Inc. Tokyo, Japan). The survival rate of the transplanted fat was 67.9% in group A and 68.7% in group B at 12 months post-surgery, which was not statistically significant.…”

“…[19] Three studies used centrifugation for fat processing and 3D imaging for breast volume measurement. The fat retention rate also varied between studies: 65.0%, [26] 67.9%, [11] and 37.6%. [20] Both the studies of Khouri et al [15] and Del Vecchio et al [12] used centrifugation for fat processing and pre-operative expansion, and the measured fat retention rates using MRI were 82.0% and 64.0%, respectively.…”

Letter on A Study on the Effective Ratio of Fat to Stromal Vascular Fraction for Cell-Assisted Lipotransfer

“…Clinically, the effectiveness of CAL is controversial [2,3]. We think that the conclusion of this study may not be directly applied for clinical practice, because the recipient of mice in this study is different from the human condition.…”