Fabio Caviggioli

Autologous fat graft in scar treatment.

Introduction Regenerative medicine is an emerging and rapidly evolving field of research and therapy, thanks to new discoveries on stem cells. Adipose tissue is a connective tissue which contains a reserve of mesenchymal stem cells. Clinical improvements in trophic characteristics of teguments after autologous fat graft are well described in literature. In this paper, we present our observation after 6 years of autologous fat graft experience in scar remodeling. Materials and Methods All patients recruited had retractile and painful scars compromising the normal daily activity/mobility of the joint involved. We performed surgical procedure with Coleman technique. In 20 patients, we performed a clinical assessment using Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) and Durometer measurements. Results In all treated scars, a qualitative improvement was shown both from an aesthetic and functional point of view. Most importantly, reduction or complete resolution of pain and increases in scar elasticity were objectively assessable in all cases. In patients studied using Durometer and POSAS score, areas treated with autologous fat graft showed statistically significant reduction in hardness measurements in comparison with areas infiltrated with saline solution. POSAS scores showed a statistically significant reduction of a great deal of POSAS parameters as a result of an improvement of both clinical evaluation and patient perception. Conclusions Injection of processed autologous fat seems to be a promising and effective therapeutic approach for scars with different origin such as burns and other trauma scars, and post-surgery and radiotherapy outcomes. In general, we can affirm that treated areas regain characteristics similar to normal skin, which are clinically objectivable, leading not only to aesthetic but also functional results.

Correction of Cicatricial Ectropion by Autologous Fat Graft

BackgroundOver the past few years, treatment of burn scars with lipofilling has shown encouraging clinical results in terms of texture, color, softness, and quality of skin patterns. This clinical application has been widened to include treatment for scars resulting from surgical correction of cicatricial ectropion. In fact, although standard surgery with flaps and skin grafts can grant significant functional and cosmetic improvements, these often are not complete because of secondary surgical scars.MethodsThe case of a 43-year-old man with cicatricial outcomes from chemical burns and subsequent surgical repair of medial ectropion in the lower eyelid is reported. The scar area was treated with injection of adipose tissue harvested from abdominal subcutaneous fat and processed according to Coleman’s technique.ResultsAt the 1-year follow-up assessment after lipostructure, the patient no longer reported xeroftalmia and epiphora. He had experienced complete functional recovery with excellent cosmetic results.ConclusionsLipostructure of cicatricial ectropion seems to complete and improve the results of the standard surgical approach, and its long-lasting benefits are in keeping with the theoretical basis of this procedure.

Autologous fat grafting in the treatment of fibrotic perioral changes in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Autologous fat tissue grafting (AFTG) has been successfully used in the treatment of different sclerotic conditions, including localized scleroderma. Patients with advanced systemic sclerosis (SSc)-related perioral thickening and mouth opening limitation are candidates for this therapeutic approach. AFTG of the lips was performed to improve mouth opening in patients with SSc. We enrolled in the study 20 female patients with diffuse SSc (median age 35 ± 15 years and 11 ± 10 years of disease duration). Two-milliliter fractions of autologous fat drawn from trochanteric or periumbilical areas were injected in eight different sites around the mouth. Baseline and after-treatment mouth opening changes were assessed by measuring interincisal distance and oral perimeter, while skin hardness was tested by digital durometer. Pre- and posttreatment modifications of microvascular architecture were assessed by counting capillaries in the inferior lip videocapillaroscopy (VC) images and by scoring the microvascular density (MVD) in anti-CD34/CD31 immunohistochemical (IH) stained perioral skin biopsy sections. Similarly, histological sections were examined to evaluate dermoepidermic junction (DEJ) modifications. Three months after treatment, both the interincisal distance and oral perimeter significantly increased (p < 0.001). At the same time, a significant skin neovascularization became evident, both considering the VC images (p< 0.001) and MVD scores in IH sections (p< 0.0001). Finally, some skin histological aspects also improved, as shown by the significant changes in DEJ flattening scores (p < 0.0001). The present study suggests that, in patients with SSc, AFTG can improve mouth opening and function, induce a neovascularization, and partially restore the skin structure.

Stem Cell Therapies for the Treatment of Radiation-Induced Normal Tissue Side Effects

SIGNIFICANCE Targeted irradiation is an effective cancer therapy but damage inflicted to normal tissues surrounding the tumor may cause severe complications. While certain pharmacologic strategies can temper the adverse effects of irradiation, stem cell therapies provide unique opportunities for restoring functionality to the irradiated tissue bed. RECENT ADVANCES Preclinical studies presented in this review provide encouraging proof of concept regarding the therapeutic potential of stem cells for treating the adverse side effects associated with radiotherapy in different organs. Early-stage clinical data for radiation-induced lung, bone, and skin complications are promising and highlight the importance of selecting the appropriate stem cell type to stimulate tissue regeneration. CRITICAL ISSUES While therapeutic efficacy has been demonstrated in a variety of animal models and human trials, a range of additional concerns regarding stem cell transplantation for ameliorating radiation-induced normal tissue sequelae remain. Safety issues regarding teratoma formation, disease progression, and genomic stability along with technical issues impacting disease targeting, immunorejection, and clinical scale-up are factors bearing on the eventual translation of stem cell therapies into routine clinical practice. FUTURE DIRECTIONS Follow-up studies will need to identify the best possible stem cell types for the treatment of early and late radiation-induced normal tissue injury. Additional work should seek to optimize cellular dosing regimes, identify the best routes of administration, elucidate optimal transplantation windows for introducing cells into more receptive host tissues, and improve immune tolerance for longer-term engrafted cell survival into the irradiated microenvironment.

Autologous Fat Grafting Reduces Pain in Irradiated Breast: A Review of Our Experience

Introduction. Pain syndromes affect women after conservative and radical breast oncological procedures. Radiation therapy influences their development. We report autologous fat grafting therapeutical role in treating chronic pain in irradiated patients. Materials and Methods. From February 2006 to November 2014, we collect a total of 209 patients who meet the definition of “Postmastectomy Pain Syndrome” (PMPS) and had undergone mastectomy with axillary dissection (113 patients) or quadrantectomy (96 patients). Both procedures were followed by radiotherapy. We performed fat grafting following Colemans procedure. Mean amount of adipose tissue injected was 52 cc (±8.9 cc) per breast. Seventy-eight in 209 patients were not treated surgically and were considered as control group. Data were gathered through preoperative and postoperative VAS questionnaires; analgesic drug intake was recorded. Results. The follow-up was at 12 months (range 11.7–13.5 months). In 120 treated patients we detected pain decrease (mean ± SD point reduction, 3.19 ± 2.86). Forty-eight in 59 patients stopped their analgesic drug therapy. Controls reported a mean ± SD decrease of pain of 1.14 ± 2.72. Results showed that pain decreased significantly in patients treated (p < 0.005, Wilcoxon rank-sum test). Conclusion. Our 8-year experience confirms fat grafting effectiveness in decreasing neuropathic pain.

Autologous fat graft by needle: analysis of complications after 1000 patients.

AbstractAutologous fat graft is becoming a widely used procedure in plastic surgery. Its indications are progressively increasing, ranging from functional to aesthetic surgery. The procedure has now entered in the field of regenerative medicine. Although many have commented on the long-term safety implications of fat grafting, especially to the breast, there is no body of information in the literature that analyzes near-term complications associated with this procedure. We performed a retrospective study of 1000 consecutive fat transplantation cases in our hospital since 2005. Complications were divided between donor-site complications and recipient-site complications. Of 1000 procedures, there were 2 donor-site hematomas and 83 local deformities caused by liposuction. In treated patients, the recipient site, there were 4 infections. One patient reported implant rupture at 1 month after fat graft. There was no skin necrosis in the grafted areas and no systemic complications such as pulmonary embolism, cardiac arrest, or deep venous thrombosis. The complications in fat transplantation are dominated by complications of the liposuction—the donor harvesting phase of the procedure. The relatively low complication rates in the recipient site suggest that fat transplantation, especially considering the recipient, is characterized by a high safety level and our device is simple to use.

Treatment of chronic headache of cervical origin with lipostructure: an observational study.

Objective.— To test feasibility, safety, and efficacy of local transplant of stromal fraction of adipose tissue in the treatment of chronic headaches of cervical origin.

Human adipose‐derived stem cells: isolation, characterization and applications in surgery

Penelope Jones,* RN, ICU Cert, Grad Dip Epi Karin Leder,† MBBS, FRACP, PhD, MPH Ian J. Woolley,*‡§ MBBS, FRACP Paul Cameron,*§ FRACP, FRCPA, PhD Denis Spelman,*† MBBS, FRACP, FRCPA, MPH *Infectious Diseases Unit, The Alfred Hospital; Departments of †Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine and §Medicine, Monash University, and ‡Department of Infectious Diseases, Monash Medical Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Matching Biological Mesh and Negative Pressure Wound Therapy in Reconstructing an Open Abdomen Defect

Reconstruction of open abdominal defects is a clinical problem which general and plastic surgeons have to address in cooperation. We report the case of a 66-year-old man who presented an abdominal dehiscence after multiple laparotomies for a sigmoid-rectal adenocarcinoma that infiltrated into the abdominal wall, subsequently complicated by peritonitis and enteric fistula. A cutaneous dehiscence and an incontinent abdominal wall resulted after the last surgery. The abdominal wall was reconstructed using a biological porcine cross-linked mesh Permacol (Covidien Inc., Norwalk, CT). Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT), instead, was used on the mesh in order to reduce wound dimensions, promote granulation tissue formation, and obtain secondary closure of cutaneous dehiscence which was finally achieved with a split-thickness skin graft. Biological mesh behaved like a scaffold for the granulation tissue that was stimulated by the negative pressure. The biological mesh was rapidly integrated in the abdominal wall restoring abdominal wall continence, while the small dehiscence, still present in the central area, was subsequently covered with a split-thickness skin graft. The combination of these different procedures led us to solve this complicated case obtaining complete wound closure after less than 2 months.

Breast Fistula Repair after Autologous Fat Graft: A Case Report

We report the case of a 55-year-old female patient who attended our clinic for the presence of a scar retraction in the upper pole of the left breast as a complication of breast augmentation. In the scar area, we observed an orifice that probing revealed to be a fistula. The patient was referred to surgical intervention under general anesthesia to obtain scar contracture release using autologous fat graft; one month after autologous fat injection, following healing of the fistula, the patient underwent a second surgical procedure to replace the left breast implant. Unexpectedly, two weeks after the surgical procedure, complete healing of the breast fistula within the scar area was observed; this observation was confirmed during the second surgical step for left breast implant repositioning, when we observed the absence of the fistula orifice in the breast implant cavity. Upon clinical examination at 1-year followup, tissue integrity was preserved. The patients satisfaction was excellent. We have observed a possible additional effect of fat graft.