AlloClae cadaver fat transfer: New plastic surgery trend using filler from dead bodies

A new technology allows tissue to be taken from dead bodies and injected as filler. Photo / 123rf

A new style of plastic surgery is saving patients from liposuction by taking fat from an unusual source – dead bodies.

The fat is taken from donors and transformed into a product called alloClae, produced by Tiger Aesthetics, a tissue engineering manufacturer of breast implants, fillers and other products for plastic surgery.

“It can sound jarring at first,” Stacey, 34, told the New York Post. “But when you look at it scientifically, cadaver donor tissue has been used in medicine for decades.”

The New Yorker spent nearly US$45,000 ($75,000) on plastic surgery with alloClae on her hips, buttocks and thighs.

“It’s highly regulated and ethically sourced,” she told the New York Post.

“It’s like we’re recycling.”

American Society of Plastic Surgeons president Bob Basu told People the rise of weight-loss medication such as Ozempic and Wegovy meant many patients didn’t have enough spare fat for liposuction.

Typically, fat transfers have been used in plastic surgery where a patient has liposuction to move their own fat from one part of the body, often the abdomen or hips. The fat is sterilised and stripped of DNA and then moved to another area such as the face or breasts to increase volume, according to the journal Bioengineering.

“Because it is donor-derived and ready to use, it allows surgeons to add volume in a controlled and targeted way without first needing to perform liposuction,” Basu told People.

“This can potentially support more subtle, incremental contouring, particularly in lean patients or in areas where only a modest amount of volume enhancement is desired.”

The lack of liposuction also meant there was no need for general anaesthesia, so patients can stay awake for the procedure.

In New York state, processed fat comes from bodies donated through a regulated programme via the Associated Medical Schools, reports the New York Post. Donor bodies are required to go through medical screening and testing to ensure they are safe for use.

So far alloClae is primarily available in the United States. It does not appear on the Medsafe website.