Fat Transfer to the Upper and Lower Extremities in Patients with Raynaud's Phenomenon
1. Fat Transfer to the Upper and Lower Extremities
in Patients With Raynaud’s Phenomenon –
A Novel Therapeutic Modality
Lawrence S. Zachary, MD
Section of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Department of SurgeryNo disclosures
4. 4Fat Transfer in Raynaud’s
Treatment
Ca Channel
Blockers
ARB
Protective
Measures
Protective
Measures PDE-I
Clopidogrel
Endothelin
Receptor
Blockers
Alpha
Blockers
Topical
Nitrates
ACE-I
ASA
Prostanoids
5. 5Fat Transfer in Raynaud’s
Treatment
Ca Channel
Blockers
ARB
Protective
Measures
Protective
Measures
PDE-I
Clopidogrel
Endothelin
Receptor
Blockers
Alpha
Blockers
Topical
Nitrates
ACE-I
ASA
Prostanoids
Invasive
Modalities
Surgical
Sympathectomy
Neuro-
modulators
Fat TransferFat Transfer
6. • Clinical improvement – radiation dermatitis, burns
• Histological evidence – Sultan, PRS 2011
– Radiation dermatitis murine model fat injection
– Regression of hyperpigmentation, ulcers and fibrosis
– Improvements in the inflammatory, microvascular,
and fibrotic characteristics
• Mechanism unclear –
Restoration of depleted adipose-derived stem cells?
6Fat Transfer in Raynaud’s
Fat Transfer Rationale
Raynaud’s - different pathogenesis – similar end effect
7. 7Fat Transfer in Raynaud’s
Goal
as a means to delay progression of
Raynaud’s Phenomenon
after failure of medical management
as a means to delay progression of
Raynaud’s Phenomenon
after failure of medical management
Utilize fat graftingUtilize fat grafting
8. • Adaptation of rejuvenation of the hand by fat grafting
• Approximately 30 ml of decanted fat
• Abdominal depots
• Injected via blunt cannulae into the affected extremity
8Fat Transfer in Raynaud’s
Technique
9. 9Fat Transfer in Raynaud’s
Technique
10 ml - dorsum of hand
3 ml - snuff-box
2-3 ml - each dorsal webspace
6 ml - along palmar arch
1 ml - palmar webspaces 2-4
2 ml - first webspace
2 ml - ulnar border of small finger
11. 11
Results
Fat Transfer in Raynaud’s
Total patients 14
Total extremities 25
Hand 20
Feet 5
Mean follow up 12 months (4-17)
Female: Male 13:1
Primary: Secondary 8:6
Average fat injected 23.29 ml (10-30)
Concomitant digital sympathectomy 4
12. 12
Results
Overall improvement 92.5% of patients
Pain reduction 85.7% (7 2.6)
1 patient – no change
1 patient – increased pain
Cold attacks 78.5% decreased frequency
and severity
Ulcerations 66% improvement
Major complications 0
Minor complications 2
Subsequent neuromodulator 1
Subsequent sympathectomy 1
Fat Transfer in Raynaud’s
18. 18Fat Transfer in Raynaud’s
Hand Vascular Perfusion by Laser Doppler
Normal Moderate Severe
19. 19Fat Transfer in Raynaud’s
Hand Vascular Perfusion by Laser Doppler
20. 20Fat Transfer in Raynaud’s
Hand Vascular Perfusion by Laser Doppler
21. 21Fat Transfer in Raynaud’s
Preop Postop
200
150
100
50
Perfusionunits
Hand Vascular Perfusion by Laser Doppler
?QMRADASH
22. Durable clinical improvement in the majority of treated patients
Safe, relatively straightforward
Mechanism – to be elucidated (stem cell angiogenesis? padding?)
Role in treatment of advanced, refractory Raynaud’s Phenomenon
22
Conclusions
Fat Transfer in Raynaud’s
Raynaud’s phenomenon is a common affliction effecting 2% of the adult population,
More commonly in woman
It results from an imbalance between vasodilation and vasoconstriction
It can be divided in to primary raynaud, which usually exists in isolation from systemic disease
and in which the vasoconstriction results in cold attacks an pain, which can be severe and debilitating
Secondary raynauds typically occurs in the setting of autoimmune diseases such as systemic sclerosis (or scleroderma)
And manifests in fibrosis, scarring, contractures, ulcerations and even autoamputations
Clearly there is a continuum of disease manifestation
Initial treatment is preventative – with gloves and cold avoidance
But many patients progress to require medical treatment with calcium channel blockers and topical nitrates
And there is a whole host of other medications aimed at vasodilation and prevention of arterial thrombosis
Despite all of these options,
A portion of these patients develop severe, refractory symptoms
And this is where the hand surgeon comes in to play,
invoking invasive modalities
With injection of neuromodulators such as botulinum toxin – which has shown to be effective, but short lived, and can be an arduous undertaking for the patient and surgeon when done in the clinic setting
Another option would be surgical sympathectomy of the hands of affected feet –
this is not a trivial undertaking, with inherent procedural risks,
and requires somewhat specialized training
and my not be long-lived with the regrowth of the stripped adventitia
The intervention we propose he today is autologous fat grafting into the affected extremities
The rationale here stems from the clinical improvement witnessed in radiation dermatitis treated with fat injection, and to a certain extent in burn reconstruction
A published study from a murine model shower regression of hyperpigmentation, ulcers and fibrosis
With histological correlates
However, the mechanism is unknown, and thought to be related to repletion of adipose derived stems cells into the injured tissue
Recognizing that the pathophysiology in raynauds is differet, we contend that the end result at the tissue level is similar
We therefore set out to utilize fat grafting
As a means to treat patients with refractory cases of raynauds
We adapted a technique popularized by coleman for cosmetic rejuvenation of the hand by fat grafting
And inject approximately 30 ccs of decanted fat from abdominal sources,
Via blunt cannulae into the affcted extremity
The fat is dispersed subcutaneously and deeper, along the vessels as follows
10 cc dorsum of the hand
3 ml in the snuff box
2-3 in each dorsal webspace
6 cc along the palmar arch, the palmar webspaces and along the digital vessels
Here you can see the fat being injected while withdrawing the cannula
Over the past couple of years we performed this procedure on 14 patients
Or 25 extremities
Mainly in the hands
With a mean follow up of one year
Most of the patients severe females with primary raynauds
The average amount of fat was about 23 cc
And four had concomitant single digit sympathectomy for critical ischemia
All in all –
We some some levelof improvement in the vast majority of our patients
Primary in pain relief
Althou one patient reported no change
And would stated her pain was actually worse
In the patients that had ulcerations – two thirds were much improved or healed
Two patients required further interventions at a 3-6 month interval
It may be difficult to appreciate the subtle coloration improvement in this case
But here you can clearly see the healing of several ulcers
In the patient with severe scleroderma
With overall improvement suggested by here wearing her ring again
An example of fat transfer to the feet
We attempted to further quantify and monitor this intervention
With speckle laser doppler that gives an idea as to the perfusion to the studied area
And this is an example of a clinically improved patient with a correlating improvement in measured perfusion
However, not all of our outcomes were as encouraging
We really had a range of measured responses that did not directly correlate with our clinical obserations
And we are are still working out how to utilize this technology
And are in the process of using other objective measure sucha s the DASH score whch grades function
As well as quantitative MRA for a better assessment of tissue perfusion and longevity of the far grafts
5 showed LD improvement – 4/5 improved clinically, but the impovement was not sig in the LD
5 LD decrease – 4/5 improved symptoms
In conclusion we found fat transfer in patients with raynauds phenomenon of varying degrees
Provides a durable clinical improvement in the majority of treated patients
It appears to be safe and relatively straightforward
The precise mechanism has yet to be elucidated – and perhaps has to do with neoangiogenesis and decreased scar promoted by stem cells
Although I think in the scleroderma patients – even the small amount of fat that survives,
Provides a little bit of padding and cushioning to their severely sclerotic digits
So we think that there is definitely a role for fat transfer in advanced, refractory raynauds phenomenon
And look forward to collaborating with other surgeons on this project