Garden Grove – Liposuction yields significant aesthetic results even five years after surgery, maintaining a major complication rate of just 1.9%. Furthermore, harvested adipose tissue can be repurposed for cosmetic and reconstructive breast surgery, showing promising outcomes when enriched with stromal vascular fraction (SVF). These are the findings of two international Italian-Greek studies published in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal, coordinated by Professor Pietro Gentile of the University of Rome Tor Vergata alongside Professor Aris Sterodimas of the Metropolitan General Hospital in Athens.
The first study - Long-Term Outcomes and Complication Profile After Modern Liposuction: A Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study with Five-Year Follow-up, recently published - tracked 1,248 patients across eight centers over five years following liposuction. Among participants, 78.6% maintained a stable improvement in body contour, while 71.3% experienced substantial weight stability. The overall complication rate stood at 14.8%, with major complications accounting for only 1.9%, and zero recorded fatalities. The research also documented significant improvements in body satisfaction and quality of life as measured by the BODY-Q questionnaire.
The second study - SVF-Enriched Versus Standard Fat Grafting for Breast Reconstruction and Augmentation: A Prospective Multicenter Comparative Randomized Study - compared standard breast lipofilling with fat tissue transfer enriched with SVF (a vasculo-stromal cellular fraction derived from the patient's own fat) across 312 patients in six Italian and Greek centers. At 24 months, the average fat retention rate reached 66.2% in the SVF group compared to 49.8% in the standard group; at 12 months, retention rates were 71.8% and 56.4%, respectively. Patient satisfaction, measured via the BREAST-Q questionnaire, was also higher in the SVF cohort. Complication rates were 14.1% and 18.6% respectively, showing no statistically significant difference.
"These two studies highlight complementary facets of plastic surgery: the ability to deliver stable, safe results through liposuction, and the potential to maximize harvested body fat by turning it into a resource for reconstructive and aesthetic breast surgery," explains Gentile, Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at Tor Vergata University and lead researcher. These innovative techniques will be featured at the 4th International Regenerative Plastic Surgery Congress, chaired by Gentile and scheduled in Rome on December 3–4, followed by a live surgery session on December 5. (9colonne)