Case report and literature review: fatal cerebral fat embolism following facial autologous fat graft

Frontiers in Neurology

Neurology

Chenyang Li¹  Jianfeng Han²  Suhang Shang²  Fude Liu²  Xiangning Han²  Guogang Luo²  Gezhi Yan²  Yawen Cheng²  Jing Shang³ 

[1] Department of Neurology, HanCheng People's Hospital, Han Cheng, China;Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China;The Diagnostic Center, Shannxi People's Hospital, Xi'an, China;

关键词: autologous fat graft;    facial injection;    fat embolism;    massive cerebral;    infarction;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fneur.2023.1180333

 received in 2023-03-06, accepted in 2023-07-06,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundSevere cerebral artery embolism is a rare complication of facial autologous fat injection. However, its incidence has markedly increased with the recent rise in facial cosmetic procedures.Case presentationWe report a 31-year-old Chinese woman who presented with unconsciousness 6 h after having undergone a facial autologous fat injection. A neurological examination revealed stupor, bilaterally diminished pupillary light reflexes, right-sided central facial palsy, and no reaction to pain stimulation of right limbs. Diffusion-weighted imaging displayed patchy hyperintense lesions in the left frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes. Magnetic resonance angiography demonstrated fat embolism in the left internal carotid artery, anterior cerebral artery, and middle cerebral artery. We immediately performed mechanical thrombectomy under sufficient preoperative preparations but failed to achieve complete recanalization. Pathological examination of the embolus confirmed the presence of adipocytes. Although we actively administered symptomatic and supportive treatments, the patient eventually died due to the progression of cerebral herniation and systemic infection.ConclusionDue to the ineffectiveness of current treatment and the inferior prognosis, fat embolism, a severe complication of autologous fat graft, should draw the attention of both plastic surgeons and neurologists so that actions may be taken for both its prevention and treatment.

【 授权许可】

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Copyright © 2023 Cheng, Yan, Li, Han, Shang, Shang, Han, Luo and Liu.