ASAPS/ASPS Position Statement on Stem Cells and Fat Grafting

Abstract

You may have heard of the “stem cell face lift,” a “new technique using adult stem cells from the body’s own fat tissue [that] has been found to restore the plumpness, smoothness, and skin tightness of a more youthful face.”1 Or perhaps you have been interested in the “stem cell breast augmentation,” also known as “natural breast augmentation,” which “employs the latest technologic advances in fat harvesting, adult stem cell transfers and breast splinting technology to provide women the option of enlarging their breasts using their own fat.”2 These marketing claims, promoted as the latest cosmetic techniques based solidly on scientific fact, flood the airwaves and Internet. Although there is real hope within the plastic surgery community that stem cells may soon produce beneficial medical therapies to treat a variety of diseases, as of yet, such claims are not founded on the best science. One of the most untoward byproducts of such claims is that patient safety may be compromised by these “stem cell therapies.” Furthermore, the overall efficacy of these therapies remains unproven. Historically, in an effort to obtain the best scientific data on related subjects, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery have commissioned task forces to develop position statements.3–6 The purpose of these commissions is to pool society resources to determine, evaluate, and report on the best available data. Position statements on the best science and best practices recommendations may change over time in light of updated scientific discovery and long-term patient data. In similar fashion, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons commissioned a task force to research the evidence for the use of stem cells for aesthetic treatments. The joint statement below on stem cells and fat grafting represents the collective position of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons on the current state of the science. One overwhelming conclusion of the task force is that there is very limited evidence in terms of assessing the safety or efficacy of stem cell therapies in aesthetic medicine. Widespread use of the term “stem cell therapy” as applied to aesthetic procedures is not adequately supported by the clinical evidence at this time. Much more research needs to be conducted before any definitive statements can be made, and the task force encourages the collection and reporting of data on outcomes and safety by physicians performing stem cell therapies to advance the knowledge and science of stem cells. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and other scientific journals encourage plastic surgeons to read the position statement below and carefully join us in the scientific research of stem cell therapies. We urge you to submit your clinical results and experimental research in stem cells to the peer-reviewed plastic surgery journals, not only to help promote good science, but also to foster patient safety and best practices among your peers. In time, good science and longterm results will establish and confirm the truth about stem cell therapies, helping patients and plastic surgeons alike. Good science will then trump clever but unsubstantiated marketing, for the benefit of all.