24.0: Thursday, March 17, 2005
7697

Viability of Adipose Tissue Injected with Platelet Rich Plasma: An Experimental Study in the Nude Mouse

Sarah A. Mess, MD, Ali Al-Attar, MD, PhD, Nathan Menon, MD, Joseph P. Panarelli, BA, Michael D. Johnson, PhD, and Stephen B. Baker, MD, DDS.

Autologous fat grafts provide a non-immunogenic, aesthetic source for soft tissue augmentation in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. However, resorption rates of 50-70% frequently lead to multiple surgeries to attain the desired contour. Supplements have been added to promote graft viability. Platelet rich plasma (PRP) is a readily-available-autologous, economic source of platelet derived growth factor and transforming growth factor. Objective: To determine whether human PRP enhances the survival of human fat grafts in nude mice. Methods: Discarded human abdominoplasty fat was harvested using a Tulip syringe and 3mm blunt cannula and processed by telfa adsorption. PRP was obtained from the buffy coat of a single-human-blood donor via conventional centrifugation. Athymic nude mice (NCR nu/nu) were injected with 100 μl samples of fat, 15 mice with 10% PRP and 15 mice without PRP under the skin of the abdomen. Graft volume was measured biweekly with calipers and at 1, 5, and 10 weeks with a small-animal, 3-D ultrasound system. Results: The longitudinal caliper measurements and final ultrasound measurements were not significantly different among the mice with and without PRP (p<0.01). Conclusion: Human PRP does not mitigate the resorption rate of human fat grafts in nude mice.