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Yang et al. Plast Aesthet Res 2020;7:8 Plastic and
DOI: 10.20517/2347-9264.2019.63 Aesthetic Research

Original Article Open Access

Comparison of adipose particle size on autologous
fat graft retention in a rodent model

Xiaonan Yang 1,2,# , Francesco M. Egro , Taraneh Jones , W. Vincent Nerone , Michael Yousefpour , Jeffrey
1
1
1,#
3
A. Gusenoff , J. Peter Rubin , Lauren E. Kokai 1,4
1,4
1
1 Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
2 No.16 Department of Plastic Surgery, Plastic Surgery Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College,
Beijing 100730, China.
3 Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
4 McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, USA.
# Authors contributed equally.
Correspondence to: Dr. Lauren E. Kokai, Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213,
USA. E-mail: kokail@upmc.edu

How to cite this article: Yang X, Egro FM, Jones T, Nerone WV, Yousefpour M, Gusenoff JA, Rubin JP, Kokai LE. Comparison of adipose
particle size on autologous fat graft retention in a rodent model. Plast Aesthet Res 2020;7:8.
http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2347-9264.2019.63

Received: 27 Nov 2019 First Decision: 17 Jan 2020 Revised: 3 Feb 2020 Accepted: 14 Feb 2020 Published: 27 Feb 2020

Science Editor: Jian-Xing Song Copy Editor: Jing-Wen Zhang Production Editor: Tian Zhang

Abstract

Aim: Unpredictable retention outcomes remain a significant issue in autologous fat grafting procedures. Liposuction
cannula variation leads to variability in fat particle size. Recent data suggest that the size of fat particles is closely related
to graft healing outcomes; however, this remains a point of contention due to potential confounding variables such as
tissue trauma with harvest. The aim of this study was to compare autologous fat grafting outcomes with variable fat
particle sizes in an animal model which isolated fat particle size as the primary experimental variable. The overall goal of
this work was to determine if reducing fat particle size is an effective method for enhancing graft retention in autologous
fat grafting.

Methods: The range of fat particle diameter harvested by four common liposuction cannulas was quantified to
define relevant small and large particle target diameters. To determine if particle size impacted nutrient and oxygen
permeability, small and large particles were incubated in vitro in a spinner flask with an abundance of culture media and
vascular endothelial growth factor secretion was measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Finally, small and
large fat grafts were prepared from subcutaneous mouse fat pads and grafted in syngeneic Balb/CJ mice. Weight and
volume retention were evaluated at 1, 4, 8, and 12 weeks. Histological analysis with Masson’s trichrome and perilipin

© The Author(s) 2020. 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.

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