The fate of suctioned and surgically removed fat after reimplantation for soft-tissue augmentation: a volumetric and histologic study in the rabbit.

The use of autologous fat transplantation has seen renewed popularity with the recent advent of liposuction as a body recontouring technique. However, clinicians are still faced with uncertainty concerning the ultimate volume maintenance of the transplanted fat graft at its recipient site. This study was initiated to examine and evaluate the changes in volume of suctioned versus surgically excised fat grafts over a 9-month period in the New Zealand White rabbit. Fat grafts of equal volume were harvested from the groin using standard suction and surgical techniques and transferred into isolated pockets in the ear. Results demonstrate that both suctioned and surgically removed fat grafts undergo significant volume reduction. However, surgically excised fat maintains its volume (42.2 percent; n = 16) better than suction-assisted fat grafts (31.6 percent; n = 16; p < 0.05). Histologic examination showed that fibrous connective tissue was more prevalent in the suctioned fat grafts than in the surgically removed fat grafts.