Fat Grafting as a Novel Treatment for Xerostomia

PURPOSE: Within the context of xerostomia, there is evidence that adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) can differentiate into salivary gland cells in the appropriate environment. The purpose of this study was to preliminarily investigate whether fat grafting as practiced in the United States would be an effective treatment for xerostomia. METHODS: Patients were selected for the study if they were seeking treatment for xerostomia after radiation treatment to the head and neck for cancer treatment. Fat grafting was performed in bilateral parotid and submandibular glands. Visual Analog Scale (VAS) of xerostomia was used both preoperatively and postoperatively to assess the effect upon xerostomia symptoms. RESULTS: Nine patients were included in this study. All patients had complaints of long-standing xerostomia. The average preoperative VAS score was 9.1. All patients tolerated all rounds of fat grafting with no complications. The average postoperative VAS score was 6.0. Compared to preoperative scores, all patients had improvement in VAS scores. The decrease in average VAS score postoperatively (9.1 versus 6.0) was statistically significant (P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that there was improvement in xerostomia symptoms with autologous fat transfer alone. This is a novel finding for fat grafting demonstrating regenerative potential. There has been extensive basic research that has shown that adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells can have a protective and restorative role after salivary gland radiation damage. Our case series is the first report of fat grafting having a similar reported outcome.Level of Evidence: 4.