Cell-Assisted Lipotransfer for the Treatment of Parry-Romberg Syndrome

Abstract

Progressive facial hemiatrophy, also known as Parry-Romberg syndrome, is a progressive and self-limited deformation of the subcutaneous tissue volume on one side of the face that creates craniofacial asymmetry. We present the case of a patient with a five-year history of progressive right facial hemiatrophy, who underwent facial volumetric restoration using cell-assisted lipotransfer (CAL), which consists of an autologous fat graft enriched with adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) extracted from the same patient. ASCs have the capacity to differentiate into adipocytes. They also promote angiogenesis, release angiogenic growth factors, and some can survive as stem cells. The use of autologous fat as a filler in soft tissue atrophy has been satisfactory in patients with mild and moderate Parry-Romberg syndrome. Currently, CAL has showed promising results in the long term by decreasing the rate of fat reabsorption. The permanence and stability of the graft in all the injected areas has showed that autologous fat grafts enriched with stem cells could be a promising technique for the correction of defects caused by this syndrome.