Can your own fat heal burn scars better?
NCT ID NCT06857435
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jul 23, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study tests whether using a person's own fat, combined with a skin graft, can improve tight scars from burns or injury better than standard skin grafting alone. Forty adults with scar contracture will receive either the new fat-plus-skin method or the usual full-thickness skin graft. The goal is to see if the new approach reduces scar size and improves healing.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- fat graft (autologous adipose tissue)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a better way to treat tight, painful scars from burns or injury, potentially improving movement and appearance.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small early study with only 40 people, so results may not apply to everyone. Risks include infection, graft failure, or no improvement over standard care.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 40 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Nov 2025
- Expected to finish
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Oct 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * The proposed study will include adult patients 18 years of age or older, * male or female, * civilian, military, active duty or retired veterans * presenting for scar contracture release and reconstruction at any level. * Additional inclusion criteria includes willingness to be randomized to receive a fat graft. Exclusion Criteria: * Age \< 18 years of age, * active infection, * medical co-morbidities or anatomic configuration deemed by the physician to be a concern for safety, * unwilling or unable to comply with study procedures, * radiation to the site of interest, * prisoners and/or vulnerable populations. * In addition, candidates that are pregnant or plan to become pregnant in the next year, will be excluded.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
2 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Mercy Hospital
RECRUITINGPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15219, United States
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Presbyterian Hospital
RECRUITINGPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15219, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can video games and pilates rebuild strength after severe burns?
- DNA sequencing could reveal hidden bacteria in burn wounds
- Can a dissolvable dressing get burn patients to skin grafts faster?
- Could a special dressing make skin grafts unnecessary for burns?
- Can tiny skin grafts heal wounds without leaving a second scar?
- Lab-Grown skin could transform burn healing