Evaluation of Use of Adipose Cells in Various Procedures of Plastic Surgery and its Volumetric Quantification using High Resolution Ultrasound

Abstract

Introduction: Autologous fat transfer is based on one of the principles of plastic surgery, replace like with like. It is used in wide variety of aesthetic procedures such as lip, facial augmentation and reconstructive procedures such as involutional disorders, post traumatic defects etc.

Utility of high‐resolution ultrasound in measuring subcutaneous fat thickness

“…HRUS may be utilized to quantify the success of fat reduction treatments, characterize pathologies with subcutaneous fat involvement and evaluate the progression of lipodystrophy in susceptible patient populations 21,22 . Recent studies have used HRUS to confirm the quantity and location of injected fat following fat grafting as well as assess the success of high‐intensity focused electromagnetic field device on abdominal fat thickness 8,9 . By quantifying the extent of the subcutaneous layer in fat deposition conditions, such as lipedema and lipomas, or in patients with insulin resistance, HRUS may help in the early diagnosis and management of disease 23,24 .…”

“…21,22 Recent studies have used HRUS to confirm the quantity and location of injected fat following fat grafting as well as assess the success of high-intensity focused electromagnetic field device on abdominal fat thickness. 8,9 By quantifying the extent of the subcutaneous layer in fat deposition conditions, such as lipedema and lipomas, or in patients with insulin resistance, HRUS may help in the early diagnosis and management of disease. 23,24 Ultrasound has also proven to be more accurate in the early identification of lipoatrophy in HIV patients than clinical evaluation.…”

“…HRUS with frequencies of 12 MHz has been found to be as efficacious for measuring fat layer thickness as those measured during cadaveric dissection 5 . Assessments of subcutaneous fat thickness by ultrasound can help confirm the success of noninvasive fat‐reducing cosmetic procedures by identifying the pretreatment extent of subcutaneous fat and quantifying the degree of treatment‐associated fat reduction 2,3,6–9 …”

“…5 Assessments of subcutaneous fat thickness by ultrasound can help confirm the success of noninvasive fat-reducing cosmetic procedures by identifying the pretreatment extent of subcutaneous fat and quantifying the degree of treatment-associated fat reduction. 2,3,[6][7][8][9] While previous studies have characterized the utilization of ultrasound for the measurement of subcutaneous fat using probe frequencies ranging from 2.5 to 7 MHz, they are limited by their disproportionate representation of participants who are older, identify as White or Asian, and men. [10][11][12][13] The primary objective of our study was to utilize HRUS to measure fat thickness at distinct anatomic sites in men and women of different races and ages.…”