Autologous fat grafting for scars, healing and pain: a review:

Introduction:Current guidelines suggest a multimodal approach to treating scars but there is no gold standard for treatment; however, there is exciting therapeutic potential for the use of autologous fat grafting (AFG). Functional and aesthetic improvements have been reported, including pain relief and scar quality improvement.Aims:To explore the current evidence regarding the use of AFG in hypertrophic and painful scars.Methods:A systematic review of the literature was conducted using 11 MeSH terms in PubMed, Medline and EMBASE. English studies that used AFG to treat scars in human participants were included.Results:A total of 746 studies were found and 23 studies (from 2008 to 2016) were included: five studies were evidence level V; nine studies were evidence level IV; eight were evidence level III; and one study was evidence level II. A total of 1158 patients were assessed for improvement in scar characteristics including colour, thickness, volume, pain and restoration of function at affected sites, fo...