What is the survival rate of frozen fat cells for a fat transfer?

To my knowledge, the survival of frozen fat has not specifically been studied however it is believed to approximate fat that hasn't been frozen. The ease of removing fat under local anesthesia obviates the cost and process of freezing fat so I would recommend having this minor procedure performed multiple times (if needed in your case) rather than freezing. Please see video for details.

Hello and thank you for your question. When fat is transferred from one area of the body to another it is called fat grafting. Fat that is transferred/grafted needs to establish a new blood supply. In studies it shows that about 50% of fat usually sticks around and that's at BEST. Frozen fat would lead to less fat surviving and probably lead to more complications. I would not use frozen fat. Please make sure you are being evaluated by a board certified plastic surgeon!

Although it is not easy to determine the percentage of fat survival of frozen fat cells, it is likely significantly less than fresh fat. Even in the best circumstances, fat survival is around 50%....we think, because currently no test is available to calculate how much exactly survives. One would expect that frozen fat cells would be less viable, especially because we use freezing to kill fat cells (Coolsculpting). Injection of previously frozen fat cells can be considered a temporary filler at best. 

I think it would be a waste of time and money to try this. Have your transfer done at time of harvesting. If you want more transfer later, then hold some donor site areas to be liposuctioned at that later date. Good luck.

Nadia, It is difficult to preserve tissue by freezing it as water normally forms sharp ice crystals and expands which normally kills cells.  Some special techniques are used to preserve certain tissue, like sperm or eggs, but freezing isn't used for most transferred tissues.  That is one of the reasons transplanting an organ is so complicated.  Some studies have shown that fat grafts cooled to just ABOVE freezing can survive for weeks, but even if the survival rate is close to fresh fat it will never be better than fresh fat.  That means the more important question is why would you ever use frozen fat cells?  An experienced surgeon using a time-tested technique should have a consistent survival rate and be able to achieve good volume restoration at the initial procedure.  If more fat is needed at a latter date it should be years down the road, and a second harvest of fresh fat cells seems more practical than trying to store some for this possibility.  -Dr. Rolfes

There are many factors which go into fat survival. There is the way in which it is harvested, the way it is processed and then most importantly the way it is grafted. If all of this is done poorly or naïvely graft survival can be very poor. If it is done meticulously then graft survival can be excellent, Even well above 50%. The question you ask is about freezing fat. There are methods in which the fat can be processed and then shipped to cryopreservation banks which are experts at preserving fat. This was an option available a few years ago but I do not think it still exists. It is a very expensive process. If someone tells you they are going to take the fat and just put it in the freezer  you should run away! First of all that process will not yield viable cells and that practice is performing tissue banking. I would never trust anyone who sticks my fat in a freezer, then pulls it out at a later date.   Be very careful, if you know a practice that does that ask them to see their tissue banking license. Best of luck! Dr. Boschert 

Hello Nadia33179,Fat cells would not be expected to survive freezing.  In fact, cool sculpting relies on this fact to freeze fat and preferentially kill those cells.  Fat is more fragile than other cell types and the freezing process would be expected to kill off most of it.  During fat transfer we also try to minimize the amount of time the fat sits outside of the body during the purification process to improve survivability. I hope this helps and good luck.  

 Transferring frozen fat is a bad idea. It substantially increases nonviable tissue which leads to higher complication rates with very little success in regards to fat survival. I would simply not do this procedure at all.  It doesn't matter if if you percent of the fat can theoretically survive freezing it's a bed technique  Best, Mats Hagstrom M.D.