Thank you for your question. There are many components to fat harvest, handling and grafting that can affect survival. Most research in this area involves animals studies since it is easier to randomize various aspects of the process, and this has some limitations in guiding surgeons as to what works best in actual patients. Fat harvesting technique can impact fat survival. Use of energy such as Vaser or laser, cannula size, suction pressure, water jet extraction and cannula opening diameter can all be factors. The length of time the fat is out of the body (reinfected right away vs. sitting on the side table for 2-3 hours while the surgeon does other parts of the procedure) might have a bearing as well. All of this affects the percentage of living viable fat cells within the total fat volume that is planned for use. The extracted fat has various amounts of free oil (from shattered fat cells from the extraction) as well as fluid (since some of the injected tumescent fluid is aspirated back out with the fat). So 1 liter of aspirated fat might be 90% fat or 50% fat. There are ways of purifying this such as centrifuging, filtration systems and simple settling over timed in a canister among the more popular techniques. These factors affect the proportion of fat within the fluid that is injected. It is unclear if processing the fat affects outcomes as long as the same total fat is injected in a particular situation (500 cc of pure fat vs 1000 cc of 50% fat) although there might some animal research I am not familiar with that tries to address this for us. Processing might lead to purer fat but the technique of processing the fat might injure the fat cells and lead to lower overall survival. I am not familiar with any research that supports use of antibiotics or antiseptics mixed into the fat for grafting as being better that giving an IV dose of antibiotic during the surgery. Over the years we are making slow progress in terms of answering some of these questions. In the interim, individual surgeons still vary widely in how they do things. I think good surgeons with more consistently good clinical results understand what combination of harvest and processing works best in their hands. As always, I would recommend starting with a Board certified Plastic Surgeon who is an ASPS/ASAPS member and well regarded in your community.