Deaths Linked To Gluteal Fat Grafting Surgery Sparks Global Task Force

NEW YORK, Oct. 06, 2016 -- Alarming news has come to the plastic surgery community showing a connection between the recent popularity of gluteal fat grafting and high mortality rates in patients who elect this surgery.  The Aesthetic Surgery Education and Research Foundation (ASERF) recently formed a Gluteal Fat Grafting Task Force to investigate these risks and called for help from the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, or ISAPS. 

Respondents reported 17,519 surgeries with 5 fatal fat embolisms (1/3448), 12 non-fatal fat embolisms (1/1449), with a rate for either of 1/1030.  In the past five months, there have been 3 confirmed deaths just in Los Angeles County.  There have been 4 deaths from gluteal fat injections by board certified surgeons in AAAASF (American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities) operating rooms in the past two years, which suggests a rate of approximately 1/2250 with a range from 1/1575 to 1/2950.  The overall published death rate in AAAASF facilities is 1/55,000 for aesthetic procedures.

As a global plastic and aesthetic surgery community, ASERF issued a questionnaire inquiring about technical details that might impact the risk. That data is being analyzed and will be submitted shortly to the Aesthetic Surgery Journal for peer-review and possible publication. ISAPS prides itself on being a forum for highly accredited physicians, practices and places patient safety as the number one priority. 

“We will always err on the side of patient safety and take these numbers into careful consideration in looking at methods to prevent calamities,” noted Susumu Takayanagi, MD, ISAPS president. “ISAPS is working closely with ASERF’s Task Force to minimize risk at all costs,” states incoming ISAPS president Renato Saltz.  “I look forward to working with our physicians to find ways to pre-empt potential conditions and know that our community will ultimately be better off with this information.”

In the meantime, the Task Force has made the preliminary conclusion that the rate of fat embolism may be increased substantially by injecting into the deep muscle as opposed to injecting into the subcutaneous tissue and superficial muscle.  This analysis has not been independently validated and is based only upon the answers provided by the respondents.  To combat the risks and potential for harm, ISAPS is taking proactive measures immediately and will be discussed at length in the upcoming global conference in Kyoto, Japan, from October 23-27, 2016. 

About ISAPS:
The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery places patient safety as its highest priority, holding the highest standards for its members. Through rigorous membership screening, continued education for members and partnerships with accredited facilities, ISAPS serves as the guardian of patient safety. ISAPS is the patient’s global resource for finding qualified and experienced aesthetic plastic surgeons and serves its members to promote excellence in aesthetic surgery.

Premier Physician Marketing
54th W 40th Street
New York, NY 10018

Media Contact: 
Julie Guest, ISAPS Chief Marketing Officer
[email protected]
1-844-867-3621