The Fate of Transplanted Fibrous Capsule as an Autogenous Graft

BACKGROUND: In reconstructive and aesthetic surgery, several autogenous graft materials and biomaterials are available for soft-tissue augmentation, but none has all the properties of the ideal filler material. The common problem is that heterogeneous material is reactive, and the problem for the autogenous grafts is resorption. METHODS: In this experimental study, the authors examined the transformation that the autogenous graft undergoes in a different location when it is used as a capsule tissue in place of silicone. Whole/diced capsule and fat grafts were evaluated at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months for their volume, weight, and histopathologic and statistical bases. RESULTS: The capsule graft was observed at month 12 as a dense collagen bulk. When it had decreased by 25.6 percent in volume at the end of the 12-month period, the decrease in weight was found to be 20 percent. The resorption rates in diced capsule grafts were 14 percent of volume and 8.6 percent of weight. The volume-based rate of resorption was even lower (63 percent) for the capsule than for the fat, and the weight-based rate of resorption was even lower (70 percent) for the capsule. CONCLUSIONS: The low rate of resorption in capsule grafts was attributed to the environmental conditions that triggered the potential cause of resorption, such as inflammation in the localization conditions when it is was carried from the region where it was formed. The results indicate that in the new localization of the capsule tissue that is developed against silicone, it behaves as an autogenous graft that it is resorbed at a lower rate.