Fat Transfer

The use of autologous fat in soft tissue augmentation dates back to 1893 when Neuber reported the harvesting of blocks of free fat from the arms to reconstruct depressed facial defects. The technique was further advanced in the early 1900s by Lexer, who treated a malar depression and receding chin using single large block grafts, and by Bruning, who was the first to use a syringe to inject small cubes of surgically harvested adipose tissue into the subcutaneous space. Although these methods had excellent short-term results, the inability to prevent significant resorption of the transplant led to the investigation of other techniques for soft tissue augmentation [8].

Currently, fat transfer is a temporary treatment that lasts from several months to several years. During injection, an overcorrection is made, as resorption of saline occurs [11]. Advances in methodology, including, for example, reinjection of fat suspended in the patient’s plasma, have increased the longevity of the procedure.