Autologous Point-of-Care Adipose Therapy: Recent Injury

NCT ID: NCT06857448

Last Updated: 2025-11-05

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

NOT_YET_RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

68 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2025-12-31

Study Completion Date

2028-10-30

Brief Summary

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The goal of this study is to explore if an adipose-based therapeutic strategy can treat full-thickness soft-tissue trauma wounds in injured individuals, especially those with severe burns or soft-tissue loss. The main question it aims to answer are:

\- Can immediate autologous adipose and autologous layered composite grafting be effective for acute functional soft-tissue reconstruction?

Researchers will compare the single-stage autologous layered composite grafting method to traditional methods to see if it improves healing outcomes, minimizes scarring, and reduces infection risk.

Participants will:

* Receive immediate fat grafting into the wound.
* Undergo simultaneous split-thickness skin grafting for full soft-tissue reconstruction.

Detailed Description

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Soft-tissue injuries from blasts, burns, or multiple traumas can cause severe damage, leading to loss of function, lower quality of life, long recovery times, and inability to work. When these injuries involve deep burns or full-thickness tissue loss in areas that move a lot, they are especially difficult to treat due to the risk of scarring, stiffness, and tissue sticking together. There is a need for a reliable, single-stage treatment that can provide soft, flexible tissue reconstruction with minimal risk, cost, and, complexity. To address this issue, the investigators propose a fat-based approach to reconstruction. Fat tissue is easily available from the patient's own body and carries many benefits in reconstructive surgery. Our team has shown that using a layer of fat immediately in treatment creates a soft, vascular layer that reduces scarring, improves tissue volume, and supports a one-stage, multi-layer reconstruction without the need for complex surgery or causing harm to the donor area. The purpose of this study is to compare this reconstructive approach under the following conditions:

• Demonstrate efficacy of immediate autologous adipose and autologous layered Composite Grafting in acute functional soft-tissue reconstruction.

Evaluators including dedicated observers will be blinded to treatment group/strategy.

Conditions

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Burns Contracture Scar Surgical Injury

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Autologous Layered Composite Grafting consists of the layered strategy of simultaneous fat and skin grafting. Fat is harvested by minimally invasive liposuction and applied directly to the wound base without any chemical or biologic processing. Skin is harvested as per standard of care and applied either to the wound bed directly as per controls or to the layer of adipose tissue.

Investigators will compare quality of acute reconstruction across two treatment arms after fasciotomy, trauma and/or burn defects (68 subjects).

* Group 1: Split Thickness Skin Graft (STSG) Reconstruction;
* Group 2: Base of wound fat graft with STSG Reconstruction (Autologous Layered Composite Grafting).
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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Acute Split Thickness Skin Graft (STSG) Reconstruction

In this Arm, the investigators will evaluate full thickness defects generated after fasciotomy, trauma debridement, and/or burn excision of the face, neck, or extremities. These wounds represent common, full-thickness injuries, which require prolonged recovery and dressing changes as bridge to either skin graft or delayed closure and commonly are associated with contour irregularities, adhesions, and contracture. The investigators will assess current standard of care dressing changes followed by immediate STSG.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Split Thickness Skin Graft (STSG)

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Partial thickness skin in STSGs are performed by harvesting via dermatome the donor site. Donor sites are typically taken from a flat surface on the thigh, lower back, or gluteal region to allow for a graft of even thickness and the selection of donor site is to be based on clinical standard practice. These grafts are placed on the prepared recipient site.

Base of wound fat graft with STSG Reconstruction (Autologous Layered Composite Grafting).

In this Arm, the investigators will evaluate full thickness defects generated after fasciotomy, trauma debridement, and/or burn excision of the face, neck, or extremities. These wounds represent common, full-thickness injuries, which require prolonged recovery and dressing changes as bridge to either skin graft or delayed closure and commonly are associated with contour irregularities, adhesions, and contracture. The investigators will assess current standard of care dressing changes followed by base of wound fat graft with STSG reconstruction (Autologous Layered Composite Grafting).

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Base of wound fat graft with STSG Reconstruction (Autologous Layered Composite Grafting).

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Autologous Layered Composite Grafting consists of the layered strategy of simultaneous fat and skin grafting. Fat is harvested by minimally invasive liposuction and applied directly to the wound base without any chemical or biologic processing. Skin is harvested as a split thickness skin graft by dermatome and applied over the layer of adipose tissue.

Interventions

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Split Thickness Skin Graft (STSG)

Partial thickness skin in STSGs are performed by harvesting via dermatome the donor site. Donor sites are typically taken from a flat surface on the thigh, lower back, or gluteal region to allow for a graft of even thickness and the selection of donor site is to be based on clinical standard practice. These grafts are placed on the prepared recipient site.

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Base of wound fat graft with STSG Reconstruction (Autologous Layered Composite Grafting).

Autologous Layered Composite Grafting consists of the layered strategy of simultaneous fat and skin grafting. Fat is harvested by minimally invasive liposuction and applied directly to the wound base without any chemical or biologic processing. Skin is harvested as a split thickness skin graft by dermatome and applied over the layer of adipose tissue.

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* The proposed study will include adult patients 18 years of age or older,
* male or female,
* civilian, military, active duty or retired veterans
* presenting for unilateral or bilateral fasciotomy of the extremity at any level necessary
* secondary to non-infectious etiology,
* unilateral or bilateral traumatic full-thickness skin loss of the face, head, neck or extremities necessitating reconstruction, and/or
* full or partial thickness burn injury of the face, neck, or extremity requiring excision and/or reconstruction.

Exclusion Criteria

* Age \< 18 years of age,
* active infection,
* medical co-morbidities or anatomic configuration deemed by the physician to be a concern for safety,
* unwilling or unable to comply with study procedures,
* radiation to the site of interest,
* prisoners and/or vulnerable populations.
* In addition, candidates that are pregnant or plan to become pregnant in the next year, will be excluded.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine

FED

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Pittsburgh

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Francesco Egro

Director of Burn Reconstruction

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Francesco Egro

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Pittsburgh

Locations

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Mercy Hospital

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Site Status

Presbyterian Hospital

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Eleanor Shirley

Role: CONTACT

412-641-8676

Patsy Simon

Role: CONTACT

412-641-8676

Facility Contacts

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Eleanor Shirley

Role: primary

412-641-8676

Eleanor Shirley

Role: primary

412-641-8676

References

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Piccolo NS, Piccolo MS, Piccolo MT. Fat grafting for treatment of burns, burn scars, and other difficult wounds. Clin Plast Surg. 2015 Apr;42(2):263-83. doi: 10.1016/j.cps.2014.12.009. Epub 2015 Feb 21.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25827568 (View on PubMed)

Simonacci F, Bertozzi N, Grieco MP, Grignaffini E, Raposio E. Procedure, applications, and outcomes of autologous fat grafting. Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2017 Jun 27;20:49-60. doi: 10.1016/j.amsu.2017.06.059. eCollection 2017 Aug.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28702187 (View on PubMed)

Evans BGA, Gronet EM, Saint-Cyr MH. How Fat Grafting Works. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2020 Jul 14;8(7):e2705. doi: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000002705. eCollection 2020 Jul.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 32802628 (View on PubMed)

Woodruff SI, Galarneau MR, McCabe CT, Sack DI, Clouser MC. Health-related quality of life among US military personnel injured in combat: findings from the Wounded Warrior Recovery Project. Qual Life Res. 2018 May;27(5):1393-1402. doi: 10.1007/s11136-018-1806-7. Epub 2018 Feb 15.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29450855 (View on PubMed)

Mokos ZB, Jovic A, Grgurevic L, Dumic-Cule I, Kostovic K, Ceovic R, Marinovic B. Current Therapeutic Approach to Hypertrophic Scars. Front Med (Lausanne). 2017 Jun 20;4:83. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2017.00083. eCollection 2017.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28676850 (View on PubMed)

Finnerty CC, Jeschke MG, Branski LK, Barret JP, Dziewulski P, Herndon DN. Hypertrophic scarring: the greatest unmet challenge after burn injury. Lancet. 2016 Oct 1;388(10052):1427-1436. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31406-4.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27707499 (View on PubMed)

Marshall CD, Hu MS, Leavitt T, Barnes LA, Lorenz HP, Longaker MT. Cutaneous Scarring: Basic Science, Current Treatments, and Future Directions. Adv Wound Care (New Rochelle). 2018 Feb 1;7(2):29-45. doi: 10.1089/wound.2016.0696.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29392092 (View on PubMed)

Wolf JM, Athwal GS, Shin AY, Dennison DG. Acute trauma to the upper extremity: what to do and when to do it. Instr Course Lect. 2010;59:525-38.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 20415403 (View on PubMed)

Harrison BL, Lakhiani C, Lee MR, Saint-Cyr M. Timing of traumatic upper extremity free flap reconstruction: a systematic review and progress report. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2013 Sep;132(3):591-596. doi: 10.1097/PRS.0b013e31829ad012.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23676968 (View on PubMed)

Le TD, Gurney JM, Nnamani NS, Gross KR, Chung KK, Stockinger ZT, Nessen SC, Pusateri AE, Akers KS. A 12-Year Analysis of Nonbattle Injury Among US Service Members Deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. JAMA Surg. 2018 Sep 1;153(9):800-807. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2018.1166.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29847675 (View on PubMed)

D'Souza EW, MacGregor AJ, Dougherty AL, Olson AS, Champion HR, Galarneau MR. Combat injury profiles among U.S. military personnel who survived serious wounds in Iraq and Afghanistan: A latent class analysis. PLoS One. 2022 Apr 6;17(4):e0266588. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266588. eCollection 2022.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 35385552 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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STUDY24080150 - Recent Injury

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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