Anterior Skull Reconstruction: Does Fat Preparation Matter?

Abstract

Background: Anterior skull base defects are a part of many surgical approaches to neoplasms, inflammatory diseases and trauma of this part of the anatomy. CSF rhinorrhea may result from trauma, surgery, or rupture of preexisting defect in the skull base. Many materials have been used to reconstruct skull base defects, but the most universal material, whether by itself or in combination with other tissue, is subcutaneous fat. It has not been validated whether the fat needs any special preparation before implantation. Establishing whether unprepared fat is equally effective as specially prepared fat may result in quicker surgical times and the need to harvest a smaller volume of fat, both leading to better patient outcomes. We sought to determine if dried and compressed fat leads to better surgical success rates.