This was an abstract in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal October 2021, “Fate of Fat Grafting IN Vivo and In Vitro: Does the Suction Assisted Lipectomy Device Matter?”
The study was done to see if HOW we harvest the fat affects fat survival. We know that it has some effect. There are studies which look at the size of the cannula, hand vs. machine liposuction, and other techniques. This one specifically compared traditional suction assisted liposuction and ultrasonic liposuction with VASER.
- One portion was implanted into nu mice for 4 and 12 weeks
- Stem cells were isolated from the other portion of the aspirate and assayed.
Findings?
- In vivo- showed similar fat tissue survival for the two groups
- Histology showed better angiogenesis (new blood vessles) and less fibrosis
- VASER had better stemcell quality in terms of cell differentiation capacity.
- They concluded better angiogenesis, less inflammation and scar formation in the VASER group.
My thoughts?
Interesting. I would think that the ultrasonic machine (VASER, I use UAL) would hurt the fat cell more, as the energy breaks up the fat. We know that ultrasonic energy preserves stem cells (where laser liposuction- slimlipo, smartlipo- does not). It was interesting to see similar fat survival in both groups. The histology showed better results for those assays than in traditional liposuction. Histology always tells the truth. I would love to see the actual journal article, not just an abstract. What was their exact technique? size of cannulas? length of time of VASER? There are many other factors.
But interesting to know.