Simplified lipostructure: a technical note

Background The Coleman technique is universally recognized as the gold standard for fat transfer, but although effective, it is tedious, time consuming, and costly. This report proposes a new and more efficient method of fat grafting (simplified lipostructure). Methods This report introduces a modification of the standard Coleman transfer and injection technique, performed by connecting a 10-ml syringe to a 1-ml syringe and to a blunt infiltrating cannula through a “three-way stopcock valve.” The study retrospectively evaluated two groups of patients who had undergone either Coleman or simplified lipostructure, comparing surgical staff, operative time, volume of infiltrated fat, cosmetic outcome, and complications. Statistical analyses were conducted using the Wilcoxon rank sum test and Spearman’s rank-order correlation. Results The simplified lipostructure group compared with Coleman lipostructure showed a reduced operative staff (1 vs. 2 members), a reduced operative time (66 vs. 74.2 min) (α = 0.0035), and an increased volume of infiltrated fat (167.2 vs. 138.7 ml) (p < 0.0001) while retaining comparable cosmetic results (7.45 vs. 7.25; visual analog scale 0–10), and only minor complications. Conclusion The three-way stopcock valve system appears to be a smart technical solution that eases syringe refilling, improves fat transplantation times, and reduces costs. The findings show this technical modification to be easy and effective. The authors therefore recommend it to all surgeons performing fat transfer