An alternative receptacle for fat harvest: The infant mucous sucker.

Sir,

Fat grafting is a commonly performed aesthetic procedure. This involves harvesting fat under low pressure using syringe or high pressure using the suction machine.[1] For harvesting a small amount of fat, a low-pressure system using syringe is good enough. The usual method of harvesting fat graft with 10 or 20 cc syringes becomes tedious and repetitive if a larger amount of fat is required. The powered suction apparatus is an option, but the aspirated fat goes directly to the suction bottle. One needs to buy a sterile, autoclavable container which is interposed in between the cannula and the machine so that the aspirated fat does not go directly to the suction machine.[2]

Our modification includes attaching the harvesting suction cannula to a sterile infant mucous sucker via a 2 cc syringe. The other end of this syringe is attached to the suction tubing. After suctioning, the fat gets accumulated in the mucous sucker [Figure 1]. We can then transfer it to the syringes for insertion after the receptacle is full [Figure 2].

Figure 1

The working arrangement. The aspiration cannula is connected to a tube which drains fat into the mucous sucker. The suction is maintained by the tubing connected to the other opening in the mucous sucker

Figure 2

The infant mucus sucker showing aspirated fat

The advantage of this modification is that it is easy to set up. It provides a disposable sterile receptacle, which is cheap at Rs. 40/unit. The capacity of the mucous sucker is 20 cc. We can harvest 150 to 200 cc of fat with less hassle. It is a cheap alternative to the sterile autoclavable and reusable container and is universally available.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.