Autologous fat transfer effective for facial reconstruction

(HealthDay)—Autologous fat transfer (AFT) is an effective technique for treating soft-tissue deformities in the head and neck, according to a review published online March 29 in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery.

Todor K. Krastev, M.D., from the Maastricht University Medical Center in the Netherlands, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to identify studies investigating the efficacy and safety of AFT in facial reconstructive surgery. The authors included 52 studies, with 1,568 unique patients, in their meta-analysis: four randomized clinical trials, 11 cohort studies, and 37 case series. Average follow-up was 1.3 years after AFT.

The researchers found a very high overall patient satisfaction rate (91.1 percent) and a high overall surgeon satisfaction rate (88.6 percent). The number of AFT sessions required to achieve the desired result was 1.5. At one year, between 50 and 60 percent of the injected volume was retained. Clinical complications occurred in 4.8 percent of procedures.

"Our results confirm that AFT is an effective technique for treating soft-tissue deformities in the head and neck, with low rate of minor complications," the authors write.