Traumatic soft tissue defects pose significant challenges for reconstruction due to tissue loss, impaired vascularity, and difficulties achieving durable coverage. Adipose tissue offers a practical autologous tissue source, and mechanically processed stromal vascular fraction (SVF)-enriched microfat can be prepared intraoperatively without enzymatic digestion. This study presents a standardized clinical protocol for harvesting autologous adipose tissue and processing it into SVF-enriched microfat for injection into cavity-type traumatic soft tissue defects. Fat is harvested manually from the thigh or abdomen under low negative pressure, mechanically fragmented by cutting and syringe-to-syringe emulsification, filtered to achieve uniform microfat consistency, and centrifuged to isolate the SVF-containing fraction. The processed microfat is injected throughout the wound cavity in a multilayered pattern. Postoperative assessment includes serial clinical evaluation, photographic documentation, and measurement of wound-area reduction until epithelialization. In a small cohort, the method was associated with progressive wound contraction and complete epithelialization within approximately 4-8 weeks, with no major complications. Although cellular composition and viability were not quantified, the technique provided a feasible intraoperative approach suitable for settings without access to enzymatic processing or laboratory facilities. This protocol offers a practical, minimally manipulated method for delivering SVF-enriched microfat in managing traumatic cavity-type defects and may serve as a foundation for further controlled studies.
Shah et al. (Fri,) studied this question.