Effects of a New Centrifugation Method on Adipose Cell Viability for Autologous Fat Grafting

Abstract

The use of adipose tissue transfer in plastic and reconstructive surgery is not new and has been studied extensively. Due to different results with regard to adipose cell damage and the level of survival of the transferred tissue in clinical practice, the authors aimed to investigate the effects of centrifugation on fat aspirates to optimize the centrifugal force for fat transplantation and to obtain an increased number of intact adipose progenitor cells. The following different centrifugation forces were evaluated in vitro in terms of fat decantation: 3,000 rpm (1,500×g), 1,300 rpm (250×g), and 500 rpm (50×g). Moreover, the density level, morphology of fat cells, cell viability, and progenitor cell number also were evaluated. Centrifugation leads to a good fat tissue density, with a significant number of progenitor cells, and efficiently removes the liquid portion. High centrifugal forces (at 3,000 rpm) caused significant damage to fat cells with low cell viability, whereas very low centrifugal forces (at 500 rpm) showed little effect on adipose tissue density, resembling fat decantation. Fat aspirates, withdrawn from 30 healthy donors in vivo, were centrifuged at different rotations per minute (rpm), as follows. For the 10 patients in group A, Coleman's technique was used with a centrifugation of the aspirated fat at 3,000 rpm (1,500×g) for 3 min. For the 10 patients in group B, the authors' technique was used, with centrifugation of the aspirated fat at 1,300 rpm (250×g) for 5 min. For the 10 patients in group C, simple decantation of fat was used. In conclusion, a centrifugal force of 1,300 rpm resulted in better density of adipose tissue, with good cell viability and increased ability to preserve a significant number of progenitor cells.

Fat, Stem Cells, and Platelet-Rich Plasma

“…82,84,[92][93][94][95][96] Of these techniques, only Telfa rolling has any evidence of improved retention over centrifugation, based on studies conducted in the nude mouse xenograft model. 84,97,98 However, the lack of human clinical trials also limits the generalizability of these findings.…”

Traditional Chinese Medicine: Salvia miltiorrhiza Enhances Survival Rate of Autologous Adipose Tissue Transplantation in Rabbit Model

“…Absorption of up to 80 % [3][4][5][6][7][8] of the transplanted volume makes the desire of achieving an ideal surgical outcome in a single operative procedure impossible. Lots of efforts have been made to improve this situation including harvest techniques, adipose tissue manipulations, injection skills, and other surgical approaches [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. For the past decades, the perspective that neovascularization in the early phase is pivotal in improving adipocyte survival rate has been widely accepted [16][17][18].…”

Autologous Fat Grafting in the Breast: Critical Points and Technique Improvements

“…However, there are some protocols at the moment that still use a centrifugation step of 3 min or more at 3000 rpm. On the other hand, some protocols use one or several low speed/time centrifugation(s) [66,68]. There are some new protocols that use a similar approach to reduce or limit damage to the tissue through the use of manual centrifugation (159g).…”

“…However, this step requires a centrifuge and probably more time to carry out than simple decantation. Since Coleman described the purification step with 3 min of centrifugation at 3000 rpm (rarely mentioned but corresponding to 900-1200 g, depending upon the rotor used), many studies have investigated the role of centrifugation (speed and time) on the viability and the maintenance of the reinjected tissue [61,63,[65][66][67]. Caution must be taken with this centrifugation step to preserve the integrity of the adipose tissue.…”