{
  "abstract": "Introduction Regenerative medicine represents a very innovative and promising approach to systemic sclerosis (SSc). The most fascinating regenerative tecnique is the autologous fat grafting (AFG) as the adipose tissue can be considered an important source of mesenchymal stem cells suitable for cell-based therapy. AFG procedure consists in lipostructure divided in 3 phases performed in a single surgical time : Fat Tissue Harvesting, Fat Tissue Processing and Lipotreated Tissue Injection. The procedure is quite invasive but safe and it must be repeated long-life in order to maintain the long-term regenerative effects. The aim of this study is to update a standardized protocol for AFG transplantation, integrating an innovative cryopreservation technique (Italian patent: Lipobank®). The introduction of cryopreservation of adipose tissue harvested during liposuction represents a promising advancement in modern plastic surgery, as it allows long-term storage of harvested fat for subsequent use avoiding the lipoaspiration phase for patients’ re-treatment.Material and Methods 24 SSc patients have been treated. Inclusion criteria were the SSc diagnosis, the indication for autologous fat grafting of face or hands and the presence of adipose tissue in suitable quantities for the cryopreservation. Each enrolled patients underwent AFG and cryopreservation of adipose tissue at the time of treatment. All harvested samples underwent vitality and viability testing at the time of lipoaspiration (fresh adipose cells) and 3 months after the cryopreservation. To evaluate the metabolic activity of cryopreserved adipose tissue, we performed the MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl) 2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay, a standard colorimetric method for assessing cell metabolism.Results An average volume of 168 ml of adipose tissue (range: 35–440 ml) was cryopreserved and subsequently used without the need for additional harvesting. Donor sites for lipoaspiration included the abdomen (74%), flanks (74%), anterior thighs (61%), inner knees (4%), and less common sites (4%). No statistically significant differences were found between fresh and thawed tissue in terms of cellular vitality (p-value = 0.858). The mean cell viability index exceeded 92% in both groups. Preliminary evaluation of patient satisfaction and adherence to cryopreservation-based treatment, compared with the traditional protocol, showed a satisfaction rate of 90% .Conclusions This preliminary study reports, for the first time,that cryopreservation doesn’t modify the vitality of adipose cells. The addition of lipopreservation to the traditional lipofilling procedure represents a revolutionary approach to AFG as it could reduce the number of harvesting procedures in patients requiring repeated treatments, minimizes patient discomfort, decreases overall operative time and reduces overall anesthetic procedures risk.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences for Children and Adults, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "Martina Orlandi"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "Valentina Pinto"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "Luca Contu"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences for Children and Adults, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "Amelia Spinella"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences for Children and Adults, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "Marco De Pinto"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "Massimo Pinelli"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences for Children and Adults, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "Dilia Giuggioli"
    }
  ],
  "title": "P.255 An innovative approach to the treatment of systemic sclerosis: the cryopreserved autologous adipose tissue bank aka lipobank, preliminary results from an Italian scleroderma referral center",
  "uid": "e7a58221-9f1a-59fa-a668-a238f56eb331"
}