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Learning Objectives: The reader is presumed to have a broad understanding of plastic surgical procedures and concepts. After studying this article, the participant should be able to: Physicians may earn 1 hour of Category 1 CME credit by successfully completing the examination based on material covered in this article. The examination begins on page ***., Background: The rapid development of disciplines such as cell therapy and tissue engineering has focused attention on stem cells as the ideal cellular substrate for new tissues. Human adipose tissue is a potential source of such stem cells., Objective: We review the role of human adipose tissue in stem cell research and describe the procurement of stem cells from the stromal vascular fraction of human adipose tissue obtained through suction-assisted lipoplasty., Methods: Raw lipoaspirate obtained through suction-assisted lipoplasty was washed in phosphate-buffered saline and digested with collagenase. The collagenase was then inactivated by fetal bovine serum and the cells were centrifuged for 10 minutes at 1200 x g. The resulting cell pellet was resuspended, plated, and maintained in nondifferentiating control media., Results: Processing of 250 to 500 mL of suctioned tissue routinely yielded 2 to 6 x 10(8) processed lipoaspirate cells. Cell viability was typically >95%. These cells have been shown to differentiate in vitro into at least the adipogenic, chondrogenic, myogenic, neurogenic, and osteogenic lineages in the presence of specific induction factors., Conclusions: Adipose tissue may be an ideal source of stem cells, because it is abundant, easy to obtain in large quantities, and safe to procure. Such a development could place the plastic surgeon at the epicenter of medical research. Issues that require further research include elucidation of site-specific differences in fat cells, the use of vacuum-assisted lipoplasty and ultrasound-assisted lipoplasty in procuring stem cells, and the development of more efficient and convenient tissue processing techniques. (Aesthetic Surg J 2002;22:121-127.).