After an eternity as the ugly stepsister, fat is finally the belle of the ball. The regenerative properties found in fat’s stem cells are not only being used – in the hands and syringes of aesthetic plastic surgeons as an autologous "filler" – to maintain and restore the fullness and blush associated with youth, they are increasingly associated with research that supports fat’s role in improved function – culminating in a veritable Bauhaus effect rife with possibilities.
New York plastic surgeon Sydney Coleman, MD, is the leading expert on autologous fat transfer (AFT), the practice of harvesting a patient’s excess fat from an undesired area and re-injecting...