PRESS RELEASE

The office of Dr Craig R Dufresne, MD, FACS, FICFS, is excited to announce the groundbreaking publication of, “Free Dermal Fat Autografting for Complex Craniofacial Wounds: a Three-Decade, Single-Surgeon Retrospective Cohort Study,” by the Journal of Craniofacial Surgery online ahead-of print.

Free dermal fat autografting (DFA) involves removing fat from just under the skin and placing it in another location and has been used in complex wounds, but it has not been studied in complex craniofacial wounds (CCW). Results of Dr Dufresne’s 33-year retrospective study of free DFA to treat CCW shows that areas where grafts were placed healed and maintained the same volume in most patients. In 4 patients, subsequent examinations of grafts during other surgeries confirmed graft survival as apparently healthy fat tissue. 

Results also show free DFA has essentially equal efficacy compared with the much more complex and costly current standard of reconstruction with free microvascular flaps. If these findings are substantiated in Dr Dufresne’s on-going studies, they could herald a paradigm shift in research and therapy for CCW and potentially other areas of wound healing, easing the recovery of certain patients with complex non-healing wounds.

In addition to the diverse ground-breaking work completed throughout his career, Dr Dufresne’s recent research has included a major project establishing the nomenclature, definition, classification, and clinical care framework for Freeman-Burian syndrome, a rare complex craniofacial syndrome.

CCW are non-healing wounds of the skull and face that have not responded to initial reconstructive and antibiotic treatment. They may involve chronic infection, exposed hardware, irradiated local tissue, and soft tissue volume loss. These wounds are a functional, aesthetic, quality-of-life, and economic burden and have many etiologies, impacting patients of all ages from diverse socioeconomic and geographical backgrounds. 

CCW also represent a significant resource-drain to the US healthcare system, with facial fractures alone accounting for over $1 billion annually just in emergency care. The current treatment using free microvascular flaps has considerable limitations, and a better choice is needed for these patients, who have endured much suffering and have few options for wound healing and reconstruction.

For more information and to arrange interviews with Dr Dufresne and a patient who has this very rare syndrome, please contact the office.