Donor site selection
Donor site selection
When planning the transfer of a large amount of fat, the donor sites are usually the body areas that the patient has chosen for liposuction—typically the abdomen, hips, or thighs. To determine the best fat donor sites, the patient is asked what body areas remain relatively unaffected after a moderate weight loss of 10 to 20 lb. The fat in these resistant body areas may have lower metabolic activity and a higher antilipolytic activity than the fat in the patient’s other body areas. Choosing these areas as donor sites may improve the longevity of the transferred fat should the patient lose weight in the future.
If a patient desires a large fat transfer procedure but does not have enough body fat available, they can be advised to return for a fat grafting procedure after a weight gain of 20 lb; in practice, this is a rare occurrence.
When planning a small fat transfer of less than 20 mL, any donor site that will not create an asymmetrical defect may be chosen. Common donor sites are the posterior hips, thighs, lower abdomen, or suprapubic area. If asymmetry is present in a body area, fat can be harvested from the larger side, or both sides can be harvested to avoid causing asymmetry.