Page 6 - Read Online

Braswell et al. Plast Aesthet Res 2024;11:46 Plastic and
DOI: 10.20517/2347-9264.2023.136
Aesthetic Research

Original Article Open Access

Current uses of adipose grafting with platelet-rich
plasma

1
2
1
1
Ann Carol Braswell 1 , Katherine Buchanan , Grant Wagner , Ayaka Fujihashi , Pamela Rudnicki ,
Sherry S. Collawn 2
1
Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA.
2
Division of Plastic Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA.
Correspondence to: Dr. Sherry S. Collawn, Division of Plastic Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2000 6th Avenue
South, Floor 1, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA. E-mail: scollawn@uabmc.edu
How to cite this article: Braswell AC, Buchanan K, Wagner G, Fujihashi A, Rudnicki P, Collawn SS. Current uses of adipose
grafting with platelet-rich plasma. Plast Aesthet Res 2024;11:46. https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2347-9264.2023.136

Received: 19 Dec 2023 First Decision: 8 Aug 2024 Revised: 21 Aug 2024 Accepted: 29 Aug 2024 Published: 4 Sep 2024

Academic Editor: Paolo Boffano Copy Editor: Pei-Yun Wang Production Editor: Pei-Yun Wang

Abstract
Aim: The purpose of this study was to analyze fat grafting with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in the context of volume
replacement and scar hypertrophy improvement in a variety of different cases.
Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on 40 patients who underwent a total of 50 fat grafting with PRP
procedures by a single surgeon between October 2019 and October 2022. Fat was generally harvested from the
abdomen, thighs, or flanks using an enclosed power-assisted system or Toomey syringes with 3.0 or 3.7 mm
cannulas. The fat with PRP was grafted into various sites using a 0.9 mm Tulip single port injection cannula for
faces/small defects. Of the 50 cases reviewed, the injection sites were as follows: 20 cases of injections into scars
(hypertrophic scars, burn/trauma scars, and scars from hidradenitis suppurativa), 15 injections to the face [to
replenish volume lost by aging and two cases for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) facial atrophy], 6
injections to the breasts, 4 injections to keloids, 4 injections to buttocks, and 1 case of injection to the nose.

Results: Overall, for all sites, the average amount of fat harvested was 360 mL, and the average amount of fat with
PRP grafted was 96 mL. Of the face grafts, the average amount of fat grafted was 20 mL. The overall complication
rate in our cohort was 2%, occurring only in one patient who developed cellulitis after fat grafting to the breast.
There were no cases of embolization. The patients showed excellent improvement in volume and significant
cosmetic improvement of scars.

© The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, sharing,
adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as
long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and
indicate if changes were made.

www.oaepublish.com/par