Histologic behavior of the inflammatory process in autologous fat implantation in rabbit vocal folds.

Fat implantation in the vocal fold is described as a method of repairing vocal fold histostructural lesions that correlate with mucosal wave abnormalities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the histologic behavior of autologous fat implants. A fat block was implanted in pockets surgically created in the vocal folds of rabbits, and the inflammatory process induced was compared to the status of the contralateral vocal fold. Twenty-four rabbits were allocated into 3 groups to be sacrificed 1 week, 3 weeks, and 3 months after the implantation. The fat autograft did not cause any unexpected fibrosis, and we consider it a relatively safe material for implantation, with a low tendency to induce epithelial reaction and the ability to repair the histostructure of the vocal fold.