The current status of autologous fat grafting.

The opinion of the majority of surgeons is fat grafting does not work. The fat cells do not survive transfer. Many have attempted the techniques only to become discouraged and abandon it. This article describes certain principles necessary for successful fat grafting: for harvesting use of a large-diameter syringe and needles, an atraumatic method of cleaning the fat cells, and an anaerobic method of storage. A method of autologous fat cell transfer including harvesting, processing, and injection of the fat is described. Long-term results are shown and limitations of the procedure are presented.