A technique for subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue biopsy via a nondiathermy method

Abstract

Adipose tissue biopsies offer tissue samples that, upon analysis, may provide insightful overviews of mechanisms relating to metabolism and disease. To obtain subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsies in the abdominal area, researchers and physicians use either a surgical or a needlebased technique. However, surgical subcutaneous fat biopsies can offer tissue samples that may provide a more comprehensive overview of the complexities of biological indices in white adipose tissue. Usually, a surgical adipose tissue biopsy includes a diathermy treatment for cauterizing blood vessels to prevent excessive bleeding. Nevertheless, side effects, such as flash fires and skin lesions in the tissue, have been reported after diathermy. Therefore, we aimed to standardize a surgical abdominal adipose tissue biopsy performed under local anesthesia using a nondiathermy method. We conducted 115 subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsies in healthy men using a non-diathermy abdominal surgical biopsy method. Our results showed three cases of excessive post-operation bleeding out of 115 operations (2.61%). In conclusion, our standardized subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue surgical biopsy using a non-diathermy method can be safely applied to healthy men at the bedside, with minimal side effects. © 2017 Journal of Visualized Experiments.