Does fat grafting automatically contain stem cells with the graft?

Question

Does fat grafting automatically contain stem cells with the graft (since fat contains stem cells) or do stem cells deliberately need to also be injected (if needed)?

Tim Neavin, MD · Answer

Every 10 cc of fat generally contains about 1 million stem cells.  Of course, the amount of stem cells within fat does very from person-to-person and diminishes with age.  Therefore, it is not necessary to inject stem cells into fat during a fat transfer procedure.  In fact, there is not a lot of great literature that supports the use of exogenous stem cells with fat transfer.  Some surgeons such as myself do mix platelet rich plasma with fat upon transfer, but again, there is not a lot of literature to support this either.  The most important consideration when it comes to fat transfer is to find someone with a lot of experience.

Kenneth Hughes, MD · Answer

Recent scientific literature has shown that samples of liposuctioned fat contain stem cells, which can be isolated. Various areas of the body appear to have different numbers of stem cells present in the fat. The presence of these stem cells may explain the observation that the fat transfer can improve the appearance of certain tissue areas that have been damaged by trauma or aging. These observations are largely anecdotal.

Marc Polacco, MD · Answer

Thank you for your question. Fat contains stem cells naturally, so there isn't need to inject further stem cells. 
-Dr. P

Mats Hagstrom, MD (license on probation) · Answer

Stem cells have not shown to have any particular special advantage or behave differently than regular fat cells in regards to fat transfer. They are simply present in adipose tissue and is included with typical fat transfer procedures.

Best,

Mats Hagstrom MD

Best,

Mats Hagstrom MD

Does fat grafting automatically contain stem cells with the graft?

Answers (4)

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