According to medical records, in 2024, patient V.T. A. D (34 years old, Can Tho city) underwent liposuction and autologous fat grafting into both temples at a private cosmetic clinic. About 60 minutes after the procedure, the patient developed fatigue, slow contact, inability to speak and weakness in the right half of her body.
The patient was transferred to Military Hospital 175 and was diagnosed with acute left hemisphere cerebral infarction in the 3rd hour due to fat embolism, complication after the procedure of autologous fat grafting in the temporal region.
According to BS.CKII Than Van Hung, Deputy Head of the Burns - Plastic Surgery Department, Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, Military Hospital 175, complications of fat embolism after autologous fat culture are very rare, with a rate of about 1/11,000 cases, but when they occur, they can cause serious consequences.
After two days of treatment, the cerebral edema worsened, and CT scans showed widespread hemorrhoid infarction in the left hemisphere causing medial displacement. The patient was indicated for emergency decompression craniotomy. During the surgery, doctors recorded that the temporal artery was superficial in the frontal branch, the apex was blocked, and there was no more pulse. The pathological examination results determined that the lumen of the artery was full of fat cells, consistent with the diagnosis of fat embolism.
After surgery, the patient's consciousness gradually improved and was transferred out of the intensive care unit after 13 days of intensive treatment.
Although overcoming the critical condition, the patient was still weak in the right half of his body, with difficulty moving and speaking. In particular, the temporal - left parietal area appeared with a wide skull defect accompanied by stretched scars, greatly affecting aesthetics and psychology.
After inter-specialized consultation, the doctors decided to place a hair-filled scalp stretcher, combined with titanium mesh skull patches and transfer the stretcher to cover the missing area.
According to BS.CKII Than Van Hung, in November 2025, the patient was placed with a 450cc skin dilated bag in the temporal and occipital regions. The dilated bag was periodically pumped to increase the area of scalp with hair. On January 26, 2026, the team performed surgery to patch the skull with titanium mesh, remove the dilated scar with a width of 90 cm2 and transfer the scalp to cover the entire missing area.
After surgery, the pink patch of skin was warm, well irrigated, and the hair follicle was completely alive. The patient was discharged from the hospital in stable condition, and life gradually returned to normal.
BS.CKII Than Van Hung said that skin relaxation technique is a modern method to help create new skin areas with similar characteristics to the damaged area, especially effective in restoring scalp because it still retains natural hair.
Experts recommend that cosmetic procedures should be performed at a licensed medical facility and performed by a specialist doctor.
