EComment. New frontiers of pulmonary resections: possible usefulness of autologous adipose mesenchymal cells

Abstract

We read with interest the paper by Kirschbaum and colleagues about airtightness of lung parenchyma after pulmonary resections without closing suture using the Nd:YAG Laser LIMAX® 120 [1]. The authors performed pulmonary resections using laser technique in an animal model, without closing suture of the parenchyma defect. We would like to add to the discussion a recent preclinical experience which demonstrated the possible usefulness of autologous fat tissue (AFT) in repairing injured lung after pulmonary resections [2]. In this study AFT improved wound healing and cell proliferation, indicating a trophic effect on both mesenchymal and epithelial cell types, without stimulating in vitro proliferation of a lung adenocarcinoma reporter cellular system (A549). As a possible clinical application of these findings we would suggest the use of autologous fat tissue after pulmonary resections to improve the healing of lasered surfaces, even without suture closure of parenchyma defects. In our Institute the feasibility, safety and outcomes of AFT in this field are currently studied by ongoing clinical trials.