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Is Stored Fat Safe to Use for Fat Transfer?

asked 3 years ago by mfrances in dix hills, ny
Latest answer by Larry S. Nichter, MD, MS
Question viewed 1,429 times
Tags: Virtual consultation

I had fat removed from my thigh and injected into my face in March 2008. Some of it was stored and frozen. Is the frozen, stored fat safe to inject again? My fat has been frozen now for 10 months.

16 answers to Is Stored Fat Safe to Use for Fat Transfer?

Stored fat viability

The longer fat is stored, the more of it dies, and the more temporary the results from fat injection are. Many patients believe that when fat is taken from one part of the body and placed elsewhere, that fat will "take". This is not true. Most fat that is harvested from one are of the body is dead. Fat is delicate biologic tissue that exists in a complex biologic environment in the body. Fat injection technique works by first aspirating (sucking) the fat out of the body with a... more

Brent Moelleken, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

www.drbrent.com

Frozen fat for fat grafting

Fat grafting is fickle. Frozen fat would not be expected to have the same viability as freshly harvested fat. A better strategy would be to harvest only the amount of fat that is being transferred in the same setting.

York Jay Yates, MD
Salt Lake City Plastic Surgeon

Storing fat

I do not know of any research that shows that conventional freezing of fat will result in viable (non-dead) fat tissue. When cells are frozen and then thawed, there is a lot of damage to the cell membrane. Think frost bite. In my opinion, fat transfer is a very finicky procedure with a lot of variables. I would not put a patient through a fat transfer procedure knowing that the fat I injected was probably dead. I use the method developed by Dr. Sydney Coleman... more

Lisa L. Sowder, MD
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Frozen Fat -a Bad Idea.

Freezing fat in the doctors office frig and reusing it does not make any sense although there are people who advocate it. Simply put freezing and thawing ruptures the cell membrane killing the cell unless it is done by freezing techniques used freeze embryos, eggs, etc in a proper lab setting. Other wise you are getting injected with dead oily glob which is hopefully removed by your phahgocytes. You may also end up having a sterile abcess which calcifies leaving a... more

Zain Kadri, MD
Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon

Frozen Fat Can Work But Be Careful

Several studies have suggested that frozen fat can survive without a problem. Unfortunately, the results will depend on the method for preserving the fat. As Dr. Lam points out, high standards should be observed to ensure sterility and viability are preserved. Unfortunately, most physicians offices are not monitored to ensure this reliability as it can be quite expensive to keep up the standard. Overall, I prefer to simply harvest fat at each session as this has been shown to have... more

D.J. Verret, MD
Dallas Facial Plastic Surgeon

Storing fat for re-injection

Fat can be frozen and re-injected with good results. The method of cryopreservation of fat is very important. A standard compact or household freezer stores fat at -20 degrees C which is not ideal for storage of fat. For long-term storage of fat the ideal temperature is -75 to –80 degrees C.

Sam Naficy, MD
Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

seattleface.com

Storing Fat for Later Transfer

Thanks for your question - There have been several studies examining using cryo-preserved fat for tissue augmentation. It does seem that fat can be stored for a period of time and still be viable (though not as well as fresh fat). Fat that has been cryopreserved has an even lower survivability. Most surgeons who are performing autologous fat transfer are using the tissue immediately upon harvest for the most consistent results. I hope this helps.

Steven H. Williams, MD
San Francisco Plastic Surgeon

Fresh Fat is Better

I feel it is always better to use fresh fat. These are living cells and you want your body to incorporate them. By freezing the cells, over time the cells denature. Please be careful.

David Shafer, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

www.ShaferPlasticSurgery.com

Stored Fat Transfer = Increased Potential Problems

Frozen Stored Fat Transfer - Probably not in your best interest The options your doctor gave you are not standard, are experimental, and and in short are not in your best interest. Is he/she board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery - I doubt it. The reason is that as a rule, the longer the fat is outside your body the more of a chance there is of fat cell death, infection from contamination, and less chance of survival. The best chance for maximum fat survival is immediate... more

Larry S. Nichter, MD, MS
Orange County Plastic Surgeon

drnichter.com

Yes, Frozen Fat Can Work

Although I personally do not see a need to freeze fat, as my fat take is very high, I have heard that frozen fat does work if done right. Also, there are legal reasons that prohibit me from freezing fat since it is held to the same standards as running a tissue bank. You need to speak with your physician regarding his or her results with frozen fat to understand viability. I agree technique of storage is key. best, sam lam see video

Samuel Lam, MD
Dallas Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.lamfacialplastics.com

Frozen Fat is dead fat!

There are studies that demonstrate how to preserve the viability of fat after freezing. However, current methods in the US are not these techniques. Fat requires a preservative called Trehalose. I am not aware of anyone using this substance. Most just stick it in a freezer and thaw. Think of the freezer burn! not good!

Robert M. Freund, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Do not recommend using stored fat for fat transfer

The secret of a successful fat transfer is using healthy and fresh fat. Fat that has been frozen or stored, has been damaged by the ice crystals. The best bet is to use fresh fat that is immediately cleaned and used in the same setting for a fat transfer.

B. Pat Pazmino, MD
Miami Plastic Surgeon

Frozen fat can be used for fat grafting

There have been some interesting reports in the plastic surgery literature comparing the biologic activity of frozen/stored fat compared to freshly harvested fat. Based on these studies, fresh fat appears to be more biologically active. However, clinically, frozen fat appears to perform almost as well as freshly harvested fat in the setting of facial fat grafting. In fact, its important to freeze some fat for later use because touch up injections are frequently needed.

Scott Sattler, MD
Bellevue Plastic Surgeon

Safety of stored fat

Stored fat may or may not be safe. But, it is certainly not viable for lasting results. Fat grafting has been performed by plastic surgeons for decades. There is no question that fat is the ideal material for soft tissue augmentation, and that the results obtained with fat grafting are the most natural-appearing. However, one problem with this procedure in years past has been resorption (breakdown) of the grafted fat, so that the resulting improvement is not permanent. The grafted fat must... more

Michael Law, MD
Raleigh-Durham Plastic Surgeon

michaellawmd.com

Several factors need to be in place before proceeding with fat transfer

Some studies show that frozen fat may work even better than fresh fat, but this has not been reproduced by other studies. Frozen fat has been used for many years, and when performed by a knowledgeable physician who takes the proper precautions and safety measures, including dealing with power outages, and verification that the product stored and to be reinjected is from the same patient, the procedure should be safe.

Ronald Shelton, MD
Manhattan Dermatologist

It is better to use freshly harvested fat

The success of micro fat grafting depends on the viability of the fat cells. The techniques used for freezing other human cells e.g. sperm depend on rapid freezing to avoid crystal development and destruction of the cell. I'm not aware of any one using this technique for clinical human usage in the US. One simple reason is the availability of fat. I would not recommend using frozen fat for micro fat injection. There could be many risks from the preservation method. I hope that could be helpful. more