Fat Injections

Using Your Own Fat To Resolve Your Pain

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Reviewed by: Dr. Bharara, Dr. Mehta, Dr. Nguyen

Fat Injections: Quick Facts

  • Fat injections, also known as microfragmented adipose (MFAT) injections, are a minimally invasive regenerative medicine treatment that uses a patient’s own fat tissue to help reduce pain, decrease inflammation, and support the healing of damaged joints, tendons, ligaments, and spinal tissues.
  • The procedure is commonly used to treat osteoarthritis, tendon and ligament injuries, rotator cuff tears, meniscus tears, sacroiliac (SI) joint pain, chronic low back pain, and other musculoskeletal conditions that have not improved with conservative treatment.
  • During the procedure, a small amount of fat is collected through a minimally invasive harvest, processed into microfragmented adipose tissue, and injected into the injured area using image guidance. The procedure is performed on an outpatient basis using local anesthesia.
  • Fat tissue contains reparative cells and growth factors that help create an environment that supports tissue repair, reduces inflammation, and may improve pain, function, and range of motion.
  • Most patients begin noticing improvement within 2 to 8 weeks, although recovery varies depending on the severity and location of the injury. Physical therapy and gradual return to activity are often recommended to optimize results.
  • Fat injections are often recommended for patients seeking a nonsurgical alternative to major surgery and are commonly incorporated into a comprehensive regenerative medicine treatment and rehabilitation program.

What Are Regenerative Medicine Fat Injections

Microfragmented Adipose injections are the next generation of regenerative medicine for individuals suffering from spinal conditions, joint pain, arthritis, or rotator cuff tears, just to name a few. Traditionally, patients may undergo surgery for these conditions but micro-fragmented adipose injections offer a simple, minimally invasive alternative with a faster recovery time.

Discover the Benefits Fat Injections

  • Shorter recovery time compared to surgery
  • No anesthesia required
  • Natural healing procedure
  • Increased functionality and range of motion
  • Effective solution to avoid or delay surgery
  • Improved pain-relief and decreased inflammation
  • Outpatient procedure in the comfort of our state-of-the-art facility
doctor patient shoulder pain

Who Is a Candidate for Fat Injections?

Microfragmented Adipose injections are ideal for candidates looking for a minimally invasive alternative to a major surgical intervention. The following conditions may benefit from this procedure:

  • Osteoarthritis of the joints including knee, hip, shoulder, and ankle joints
  • Rotator cuff tears
  • Labrum tears (shoulder)
  • Meniscal (cartilage) tears in the knee
  • Sacroiliac joint pain
  • Lower back pain as a result of spinal facet pain or a pinched nerve
  • Persistent partial tendon tears, such as tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis, quadriceps and patellar tendon tears

Frequently Asked Questions about Fat Injections

Microfragmented Adipose provides cushioning and structural support to the body’s tissue by utilizing the reparative cells in fat. Fat contains a variety of cells including adipocytes, pericytes, and stem cells, that when utilized in orthopedic medicine, can promote an environment that aids in the repair, replacement, reconstruction, and support of damaged or injured tissues. Because of its fatty property, a Microfragmented Adipose injection tends to stay in the affected area, allowing your body to maximize the benefits of the reparative cells without being reabsorbed by the body.

This simple, minimally invasive procedure removes a small section of fat that is processed in a special Microfragmented Adipose device using a sterile saline solution. The fat is then broken down into a smaller size, removing the blood, inflammatory cells, and fatty oils leaving only the desired, powerful fat behind. The resulting tissue is called Microfragmented Adipose. Your physician then will use a small needle to inject the Microfragmented Adipose tissue into the treatment site. The simplicity of the procedure means that it requires only local anesthesia and can be performed in approximately one hour in our state-of-the-art outpatient medical facility right here at Virginia Spine Institute.

On average, most patients start to see signs of improvement in the form of reduced pain or increased function within two to eight weeks. The timeframe for experiencing results is dependent upon the area of injury and the extent of injury. Continuing a well-designed course of physical therapy and avoidance of aggressive physical activity or overloading the injected tissues is advised in the weeks that follow the injections.

Get The Pain Relief You Need From Fat Injections

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