Autologous nanofat harvested from donor site of full-thickness skin or skin flap grafting for the treatment of early postburn scarring: a case series

Abstract

Introduction Postburn scarring often presents a specific reconstructive challenge from both functional and cosmetic perspectives. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether autologous nanofat harvested from the donor site of full skin or a skin flap can be reused for the treatment of early postburn scaring. Methods From July 2018 to April 2022, patients with early postburn scarring underwent scar reconstruction surgery with full-thickness skin or a skin flap for a contour deformity and/or scar contracture, and autologous nanofat grafting was performed during the same operation. The Vancouver Scar Score (VSS) and the itch and pain scores were evaluated at the preoperation time point as well as at 2–3 weeks and 3-months postoperation. A comparison was made among the same patients at different time points. Results A total of 17 patients, aged from 18 months to 62 years old were included in this analysis. The VSS was reduced from 10.00 ± 2.12 to 7.41 ± 1.277 at the 2–3-week postoperation time point, and to 5.53 ± 1.37 at the 3-month postoperation time point. The pain and itch score were reduced from 4.65 ± 1.37 and 6.35 ± 1.27, to 3.70 ± 1.10 and 4.94 ± 1.30 at the 2–3-week postoperation time point, and to 3.00 ± 1.28 and 3.94 ± 0.97 at the 3-month postoperation time point respectively. The VSS and pain and itch scores showed a statistically significant reduction (P < 0.05) at the 2–3-week and 3-month postoperative follow-ups compared with the preoperation time point. Conclusion Autologous nanofat grafting from donor sites of full thickness skin or skin flap may be a promising treatment for an early postburn scaring as it promotes scar softening, improves itching and pain within the scar. However, this is a small case series with only 17 patients. Further conclusions need to be drawn through expanded samples for randomized controlled clinical trials. Lay Summary Hypertrophic scarring is the most common complication after partial thickness burn injury, and the complex pathogenesis and prolonged dynamic process render treatments only marginally effective. In the past few decades, with the technological advances of liposuction and fat grafting, nanofat grafting has been used in a variety of surgical fields, including wound healing, scleroderma, facial rejuvenation, and neuralgia. However, the role of nanofat grafting is not well documented in the prevention and treatment of early postburn scarring. Full-thickness skin grafting or skin flap transplantation is the most common method for the reconstruction of a hypertrophic scaring until now. In the current study, we harvested subcutaneous fat during the preparation of the full-thickness skin or skin flap, prepared nanofat and injected it in the scar located at a nonsurgical site. Comparison of the pre- and postoperation scores for scar color, scar thickness, scar stiffness, and scar regularity showed that the postoperation scores were decreased significantly and that there was a significant improvement in scar pigmentation and thickness as well astheaesthetic outcome after treatment. Most importantly, reductions in the scores for pain and itching could be assessed objectively. It seems that the nanofat grafting is a potential method for prevention and treatment for early postburn scaring.