| Summary: | Each year, approximately 22,000 Canadian women receive surgical treatment for breast cancer. Of those women who have undergone a mastectomy for unilateral invasive cancer, close to one in 10 also undergoes reconstructive surgery. Autologous fat transfer, or fat grafting, is a reconstructive intervention that has been used since the late 1800s to correct tissue deformities in several areas of the body, including the face. Fat is removed from one part of the body through liposuction, purified by centrifugation, and reinjected into another area of the body. Autologous treatments are inherently appealing because of the use of a patient's own tissue, and fat grafting is conceptually and technically straightforward while bearing the potential to be repeated if necessary. Autologous fat grafting for breast reconstruction was introduced in the 1980s, but was soon discouraged due to concerns about calcified grafted tissue compromising imaging detection of abnormal breast lesions. However, interest in this procedure subsequently increased with the advent of the Coleman technique for structural fat grafting that was associated with improved graft survival and tissue regeneration. One point still under study and debate is the suggestion that the regenerative potential of tissue implanted in a site of previous cancer may increase the risk of cancer recurrence. Some concerns regarding the safety and effectiveness of autologous fat grafting remain and it is not a universally recommended method of breast reconstruction following oncologic surgery. With its increasing popularity and in the light of this uncertainty, questions have arisen about autologous fat grafting. The objective of this review is to evaluate the clinical benefit of autologous fat grafting, aside from cosmetic improvement, for reconstructive surgery and to identify any safety issues and costs associated with the procedure
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