An Efficacy Study of a New Radical Treatment for Acne Vulgaris Using Fat Injection.

BACKGROUND Fat grafting is a popular operative approach for rejuvenation. Some patients needing facial fat grafting also have acne, a common disorder with a high incidence. Fat grafting may improve areas with acne in some patients. OBJECTIVES This study assessed whether fat grafting can improve acne and analyzed the mechanism of action by which fat grafting improves acne. METHODS Preoperative and postoperative digital photographs were examined retrospectively in 229 patients who underwent fat grafting to compare the numbers of inflammatory acne lesions. In addition, 18 patients with acne who were treated by injection of subdermal stromal vascular fraction gel (SVF-gel) were examined prospectively. The numbers of inflammatory acne lesions before and after treatment, and changes in the levels of CD4 + T cell infiltration, were stained immunohistochemically. RESULTS Of the 229 retrospectively evaluated patients who underwent fat grafting, 22 had acne and had complete follow-up data; in these patients, the numbers of acne lesions were significantly lower after than before treatment. The 18 patients who received subdermal SVF-gel injection showed evident improvements in inflammatory lesions after more than 1 year of follow-up. CD4 + T cell infiltration was significantly decreased at week 4. CONCLUSIONS Facial fat grafting could improve inflammatory acne lesions, perhaps because adipose-derived stem cells, which are plentiful in SVF-gel, could reduce CD4 + T cell-mediated inflammation responses.