Autologous fat grafting: Comparison of techniques

BACKGROUND. Despite more than a century of reporting in the medical literat ure, controversy still surrounds both the efficacy and longevity of autolog ous fat transplantation in subcutaneous soft tissue augmentation. OBJECTIVE. To summarize the existing literature relating to the effectivene ss of this procedure and to highlight differences in technique that may pla y a role in reported treatment successes and failures. METHODS. Review of the literature and reporting of authors' observations an d results. CONCLUSION. Autologous fat transplantation can be a gratifyingly effective treatment for subcutaneous augmentation that may produce permanent results in some cases. This article aims to clarify some of the differences in tech nique employed by doctors in this field and aims to enable the reader to be tter see the subtle, but sometimes important differences in methods used.