Structural Fat Grafting for Craniofacial Trauma: Repeat Fat Grafting Injection-5 Subject Cohort

Facial trauma injuries, especially those sustained in military combat and severe automobile crashes, are characterized by destruction of bone and soft tissue anatomy. While the bony skeleton can often be reconstructed, the overlying soft tissue is difficult to restore. Importantly, it is the structure of the soft tissue that imparts the normal human form, and adequate reconstruction of soft tissue defects allows trauma victims to reintegrate into society. Accepted procedures for soft tissue reconstruction of the face involve tissue flap reconstruction procedures and autologous fat grafting. Tissue flap operations are extensive, often including microvascular surgery, and do not precisely correct the deformities. Fat grafting is a less invasive technique that allows for more precise shaping of the reconstructed tissues. However, autologous fat grafts may undergo resorption that can affect the appearance of the reconstruction over time. The degree of change in appearance after fat grafting has not been well studied for facial trauma patients. We hypothesize that subjects who have successfully completed participation in the study (PRO09060101) and experienced graft resorbtion will have improved outcomes with an additional fat graft treatment. We anticipate that additional fat graft treatment will fully restore the facial features and overcome fat loss from the initial fat graft treatment. Additionally, we hypothesize that the cellular properties of the fat precursor cells (preadipocytes) may correlate with fat graft retention