Fat-Derived Orthobiologics for Knee OA

Autologous biological preparations have emerged as a growing area of medical innovation in a variety of medical, interventional, procedures. These cellular therapies are often referred to as autologous biologics, and they are derived from patient’s own tissues, including blood, bone marrow, and fat tissue to prepare platelet-rich plasma (PRP), bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC), and adipose tissue concentrate (ATC), respectively. Autologous biologics comprise of signaling cells and molecules have the potential to play adjunctive roles in a variety of regenerative and orthobiological treatment plans, by stimulating and enhancing tissue repair. A source for autologous mesenchymal stem cells is adipose tissue (AT), which can be harvested via lipo-aspiration of subcutaneous fat, from various areas of the body. In this chapter, we touch on some essentials regarding AT harvesting, preparations of stromal vascular fraction (SVF) and micro-fragmented adipose tissue (MFAT), cellular structures, their immunomodulatory actions, and angiogenetic effects. Despite the progress in understanding biological technologies and improvements in clinical applications, definitive and accepted standards to prepare different biological bioformulations are still lacking.