Autologous fat grafting for the treatment of sclerotic lesions and scars.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Microfat grafting is a well-known technique that is underutilized in dermatology. Instead of removing sclerotic tissue, microfat grafting preserves the tissue and uses stem cells for remodeling its structure into normal tissue. We performed a retrospective study of patients treated with microfat grafting for sclerotic and atrophic skin lesions and scars. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Seventy-two microfat grafts were performed using the Magalon technique under general anaesthesia for the treatment of sclerotic and atrophic skin lesions. We performed grafts for different indications, such as scars (n=55) and sclerotic and atrophic skin lesions (n=17 Parry-Romberg syndrome, morphea). The main outcome was assessed for satisfaction during follow-up. In addition, an independent committee judged the results based on photographs. RESULTS: Satisfaction levels (e.g. results were judged to be "good") were almost 91% (n=50/55) for scars and 100% (n=17/17) for atrophic and sclerotic skin lesions. Satisfaction levels according to the independent committee were 94.1% for sclerotic and atrophic lesions and nearly 51% for scars. CONCLUSION: Satisfaction was high after microfat grafting for atrophic and sclerotic skin lesions. Microfat grafting enabled restoration of the skin texture by exploiting stem cell properties. It is an efficient dermatological therapy for sclerotic and atrophic lesions, for which there are few alternative treatments.