The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) Gluteal Fat Grafting Safety Review and Recommendations.

Superficial gluteal lipofilling is a fat grafting procedure performed to correct a trochanteric depression and buttock deflation. Brazilian butt lift (BBL) is a gluteal lipofilling procedure traditionally associated with exaggerated appearance and intramuscular fat transfer. The risk of mortality from fat embolism in BBL was previously reported as being 1:2500. The actual risk was later estimated to be nearer 1:15,000, which is similar to the mortality risk in abdominoplasty. There is increasing evidence regarding the safety of subcutaneous gluteal lipofilling. This has principally been related to new technologies, surgical techniques, and training being developed to avoid intramuscular injection of fat. The efficacy and benefits of intraoperative ultrasound for guiding the subcutaneous placement of fat and avoiding inadvertent deep lipofilling have been demonstrated. Other serious risks and complications must be considered in addition to mortality. These include hypothermia, sepsis, skin necrosis, and poor aesthetic results, as well as the much-publicized risk of fat embolism. Complications are better controlled and managed in strictly regulated healthcare settings. Patients seeking surgery at unregulated facilities or via medical tourism are deemed to be at higher risk of being exposed to these serious complications and/or inadequate subsequent management.

Full thickness skin graft cover for lower limb defects following excision of cutaneous lesions.

Excision of cutaneous lesions in the lower limb often results in defects that cannot be closed primarily. In comparison to split-skin grafts, full-thickness skin grafts achieve a better cosmetic outcome but take with more difficulty. We aimed to study the outcome of full-thickness graft resurfacing of such defects. This study included 28 patients who underwent excision of a total of 30 lesions with full-thickness skin grafts. The data gathered included site and size of the lesion, level of excision, method of fixation of the graft, histology results, graft take and presence of donor and recipient complications. The median age of the patients was 87 years. The mean size of the defect was 18.03 cm(2) (roughly 6 x 4 cm(2)). The graft take was good (>80%) in 18 full-thickness skin grafts, while it was partial (50-75%) in 7 patients and was poor (25% or less) in 5 patients. All excision wounds healed without any need for further surgery. Donor site complications occurred in 2 patients. We conclude that, following excision of lower limb lesions, primary full-thickness skin grafting is an effective and safe method of resurfacing defects in the lower limbs with a very low incidence of donor site complications.