Injection of fat for soft tissue augmentation.

Perinephric rabbit fat was divided into small particles with scissors and razor blades and then injected subcutaneously into the donor rabbit. The injected fat was compared with surgically implanted fat. Subcutaneous augmentation with both types of fat resulted in similar findings. Grossly, 40% of injection and implantation sites were palpable after 16 to 36 weeks of observation. Histologically, fat was present at practically every site, but with a variable amount of fat cell destruction. This study demonstrates that the author's method for dividing and injecting fat produces comparable results in terms of soft tissue augmentation to those obtained by surgically implanting fat. Although injected fat does not fulfill the criteria as the ideal substance for soft tissue augmentation, fat injection may prove to be a clinically useful means for improving body contour.