The future of fat: Will plastic surgery-driven stem cell research revolutionize medical care?

Publisher: Plastic Surgery News
Credit to: Jim Leonardo, October/November 2009

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons interviewed Roger Khouri, MD in its October/November 2009 issue regarding fat transfer to the breast. This prestigious journal goes in depth on the advancement of fat transfer for breast reconstruction and augmentation and also for life threatening diseases. Here is an excerpt from the article:

“The fat must be introduced in small aliquots, through many injections over several weeks,” according to Roger Khouri,MD, Miami. “Big blobs of fat introduced at one time will die.You need to disperse in the recipient site tiny droplets of fat that have a good tissue interface to survive. Because you cannot overstuff the grafts, the recipient size limits the amount of graft possible per session.”

Roger K. Khouri, MD, FACS Khouri has created a gradual-expansion device known as the Brava® system, which attaches directly to the breast and through low but continuous pressure over several weeks, prompts the woman’s body to enlarge the breast tissue – creating more space into which he can transfer the larger amount of fat required for breast augmentation and reconstruction.

“The system creates a 3-dimensional ‘mesh,’ or scaffold, you can populate with fat,” he says. “You can’t introduce 300 ccs of fat into a tight mastectomy scar defect or a very small breast, because the graft/recipient interface requirement would not allow it." Read Full Article