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A bizarre new trend in cosmetic surgery is emerging—injecting fat harvested from deceased individuals to plump up living patients. Known as 'zombie filler,' the product alloClae is gaining traction among US patients seeking solutions for 'botched' liposuction or to fill hollowed areas caused by Ozempic use.
But is it safe? Queensland surgeon David Sparks told 7NEWS.com.au that there is insufficient data on the new product to understand its long-term effects.
The cadaver-harvested fat injectable is FDA approved in the United States. It has yet to be submitted for TGA approval in Australia, but this is not because Australian plastic surgeons are unfamiliar with using cadaver remains in their practice.
However, Sparks, who has a background in tissue engineering, noted that alloClae is uniquely processed and retains more donor cells than similar products. Despite some US surgeons' online claims that the product is completely DNA-free, alloClae only 'minimises DNA content,' according to manufacturer Tiger Aesthetics' website.
'They use a kind of detergent solution when processing the fat, which removes some of the DNA but does not completely eliminate the cells,' Sparks said.
This sterilisation and processing method is designed to prevent a negative immune reaction and bodily rejection while preserving the structure of the fat.
US surgeons are promoting alloClae on social media, but some experts argue that data on the long-term effects of the product is lacking. 'Certainly, the clinical evidence for that product is lacking,' Sparks said. 'There's no current clinical evidence—only pre-clinical, and that study was conducted with mice that lack an immune system.'
If the fat is rejected, it dies within the patient's body, where Sparks explained it can form 'little oil cysts'—small collections of dead fat.
Why the Hype?
The processing of alloClae allows it to provide immediate volume to the body, similar to lipofilling or synthetic filler, while also promoting longer-term growth through the proteins and growth factors it contains, Sparks said. 'The idea is that you inject it, and it gives immediate volume as well as stimulating your own cells to grow into it.'
The product is perceived as a 'more natural' way to achieve prompt plumping, but Sparks cautioned, 'It is not necessarily.' He noted that other similar products on the market remove everything from the cadaver fat except components like proteins and growth factors that 'over time stimulate fatty ingrowth.'
Some patients reported paying nearly $US10,000 for the procedure after waiting years for a solution to 'botched' liposuction. Many US surgeons are promoting the 'future of contouring,' but some experts say there is insufficient data to know the long-term effects of the 'zombie filler.'
Because alloClae does not require the client to provide their own fat for treatment, it is also popular among patients who want to correct bodily changes caused by rapid Ozempic weight loss or after cancer treatments such as a mastectomy.
The treatment is currently used largely on breasts, buttocks, and 'hip dips' and works like lipofilling, but the FDA is expected to also approve the product for facial injections soon. Patients do not need to undergo anaesthetic for the off-the-shelf product, which can be injected in a surgeon's office—so, while costly, it is popular among time-poor patients.
Unlike a typical BBL surgery, which requires patients to avoid sitting for six weeks, patients who receive alloClae injections in the buttocks can sit the next day, according to one US surgeon on social media.
Many surgeons are promoting the product as the 'future of contouring' on social media, but not all professionals are free from doubt. Dr Kelly Killeen, a Beverly Hills surgeon who often treats breast cancer patients and appears on the E! network reality series DR. 90210, said: 'I know I'm not going to be popular with some of my friends when I discuss this. We don't have great data on this product yet—I don't know how long it's going to last, I don't know what the complication rates are, and I don't know what the take-rate is. We just don't have this information.'
She noted that when talking to patients about regular fat grafting, she can offer them that information—but she 'can't do that with alloClae, so it makes me a little uncomfortable to use, especially in large volumes.' She questioned: 'If you are injecting this throughout breast tissue, does it affect mammograms? Does it affect breast cancer rates? We don't have the data at this point, so I cannot tell you that it's safe and it's not going to affect your mammogram. As someone who treats breast cancer patients, that is a bit concerning.'
How Aussie Surgeons Use Cadaver Remains
Putting cadaver remains into our body might seem morbid, but Sparks said 'we do it all the time' in Australia. The process is called allografting, and it is commonly used in various surgical procedures in Australia.
'Plenty of surgeons will use cadaveric cartilage to reconstruct people's noses in rhinoplasty—so, when people get a nose job and they don't have enough of their own septum, instead of borrowing their own rib we'll just use cadaver rib,' Sparks said. 'Because it doesn't have any cells in it, your body just grows into it and turns it into your own tissue. When you rupture your ACL—in older patients—they will basically use an allograft ACL.'
Regarding health risks, the chance of communicable disease is more theoretical, he said. 'There is a very strong regulatory process in Australia that protects patients, so the risk of communicable disease transmission is so low it's basically not reported, and that's because it's such a rigorous process. I suspect a similar level of scrutiny overseas, too, such as in the US.'
But from an 'immunological viewpoint,' Sparks suspects US patients choosing alloClae are taking on a higher level of risk than would come with other plumping procedures.
