Study of the histologic alterations and viability of the adipose graft in humans.

The authors describe a series of sections of adipose autografts in humans, focusing on the histological viability and the alterations observed in a postgraft followup. Five female patients aged 29 to 43 years were subjected to seven grafting sessions prior to a classic abdominoplasty. The autologous adipose tissue was grafted in the infraumbilical region. The grafting intervals were 60, 30, 21, 15, 8, 5, and 2 days before the surgical procedure. The grafted tissue of all groups was surrounded by a collagen capsule. The viable tissue was observed in the peripheral zone approximately 1.5 +/- 0.5 mm from the edge of the graft. A loss of approximately 60% of the grafted tissue was still noticed in this viable zone.