RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Fat grafting is a common adjunct procedure used to treat temporal fat hollowing in children with craniofacial anomalies. The goal of this study was to assess the surgical and aesthetic outcomes of this procedure. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent temporal fat grafting at a single tertiary pediatric craniofacial center. The surgical outcome was assessed based on intraoperativeand 30-day postoperative complication rates. The aesthetic outcome was assessed by 3 independent investigators using a 3-point grading scale for preoperative temporal hollowing severity (1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = severe) and a 5-point scale for postoperative improvement (0 = no, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = significant, and 4 = complete improvement). RESULTS: Forty-three patients met inclusion criteria. Twenty-seven (63%) were male, 39 (91%) had a history of craniosynostosis, and 18 (42%) had associated syndromes. The mean age at fat grafting was 9.9 years (2.7-20.4, SD = 5.5) with an average follow-up time of 1.6 years (0-5.8, SD = 1.8). The average volume of fat grafted was 8.6 mL (0-30, SD = 5.9) to the right temporal region and 8.6 mL (0-30, SD = 5.8) to the left. There were no intraoperative or postoperative complications. The mean improvement score was 2.9 (1-4, SD = 0.7), demonstrating that most patients experienced moderate to significant improvement. Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that syndromic status had a negative impact on the aesthetic outcome (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that fat grafting is an effective method to treat temporal hollowing in children with craniofacial anomalies with no perioperative complications.