Researchers comparing fat grafting with commonly used centrifugation to the new Revolve System (LifeCell) found they were able to process a larger volume of fat for injection with the Revolve System and their operative time with the new technology was shorter, according to a new study published in Aesthetic Surgery Journal.
Plastic surgeons studied 98 breast reconstruction patients who had fat grafting using the Revolve System, which features fat harvesting and processing in a single unit, and compared them to 96 such patients who had centrifugation. The mean volume of fat harvested in the Revolve System group was 506.0 mL versus 126.1 mL in the centrifugation group. Fat injected in the Revolve group was a mean 177.3 mL versus 79.2 mL among those receiving centrifugation. And the mean time to complete fat grafting in the Revolve System group was 34.6 minutes, versus 90.1 minutes in the centrifugation group.
Related: Fat grafting for the breast
Fewer patients in the Revolve group experienced nodule and cyst formation, and fewer had reoperations.
The researchers suggest that using the Revolve System would cost patients an average $2,870.08 less than if they were to undergo centrifugation.
Dr. GabrielGiven the findings and superiority of the quality of fat obtained with the Revolve System, the study’s lead author Allen Gabriel, M.D., with PeaceHealth Plastic Surgery, in Vancouver, Wash., tells Cosmetic Surgery Times that there is no role for centrifugation.
“The drawback with the Revolve System is that if the surgeon wants to inject only in the face, then small amounts of fat are needed and, therefore, the current system is not designed for 10 cc to 20 cc injections. Other modalities may be used to procure and process the fat, but the quality of the fat may then be affected,” Dr. Gabriel says.
These results translate to aesthetic surgery, even though this study was done in breast reconstruction patients because plastic surgeons use aesthetic principles in breast surgery to reconstruct a breast, according to Dr. Gabriel.
“Replacing fat where it's missing is the principle both in aesthetic and reconstructive breast surgery,” he says.
Disclosure: Dr. Gabriel is a consultant for LifeCell and Allergan.
