The Efficacy of Autologous Nanofat Injection in the Treatment of Infraorbital Dark Colouration

Abstract

Background: Periorbital hyperpigmentation is a commonworldwide problem, which makes a person appear tired, sad,and aged. A number of factors can cause dark circles aroundthe eyes including excessive pigmentation, thin and translucentlower eyelid skin overlying the orbicularis oculi muscle, andshadowing due to skin laxity and tear trough. Although anumber of treatment options are available, autologous fattransplantation is an effective method for the treatment oflower lid dark circles, but irregularities caused by leavingvisible lumps of the fat can occur. Mechanical emulsificationof harvested fat achieves much more finer fat particles thanmicro-fat called nano-fat which acts primarily by the plentythe active transplanted stem cells the purpose of this study isto evaluate the effectiveness of the nanofat grafting techniquein correcting infraorbital dark circles.Pateints and Methods: Nanofat grafting was performedin 10 female patients for dark lower eyelids. The grafts wereinjected into intra-dermal and sub-dermal layers using sharp27G needle and were harvested from different sites accordingto the ease of accessibility and to improve the patient's bodycontours. The mean follow-up period was 4.6 months, rangingfrom 2 to 8 months. All patients were clinically evaluatedusing standardized serial digital photographs by two plasticsurgeons, who were blinded to the type of procedure performedat each of the follow-up visits.Results: In this study, there was significant improvementof the peri-ocular dark halos in 5 cases (50%), moderateimprovement was encountered in 2 cases (20%), 2 cases (20%)showed mild improvement and no improvement in one case(10%). As regards patient satisfaction, 8 cases (80%) weresatisfied with the final result, while 2 patients (20%) werenot satisfied. Post-operative edema and ecchymosis wereminimal in 5 cases (50%) and mild in 5 cases (50%). No caseswere presented with either post injection infection or lumpsand contour irregularities during the follow-up period.Conclusion: In conclusion, nano fat injections for thetreatment of infra orbital dark circles is a simple, cost effectiveprocedure. In addition, nanofat grafting technique provideda significant improvement in skin quality. Our results suggestthat the stem cell activity of the nanofat grafting techniquehas great potential as a treatment modality for dark circles aswell as for skin rejuvenation in general.