Global Analyses and Latest Research Hot Spots of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells in Fat Grafting: A Bibliometric and Visualized Review

BACKGROUND: Fat grafting is one of the most effective treatments for soft tissue restoration and augmentation. Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) supplementation is one of the foremost concerns to improve its efficiency. There have been several studies aiming at adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells in fat grafting, but no relevant bibliometric research has conducted. METHODS: Articles about fat grafting and ASCs were retrieved in Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). Using VOSviewer 1.6.10.0 (Leiden University, the Netherlands) and CiteSpace 6.1.R2 (Drexel University, USA), the information of national distribution, institutions, journals, authors and keywords were evaluated and calculated. RESULTS: A total of 1166 papers in the field of ASCs in fat grafting were retrieved from 2002 to 2021. The USA produced the most articles, and the top 2 productive institutions were all from the USA. Researchers and institutions conducting ASCs in fat grafting research have shown a widespread and close connection. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery published the most article on ASCs in fat grafting, and professor Rubin Peter is the most productive author. The top 10 references with the highest LCS mainly focused on applying ASCs to assist fat transplantation in plastic surgery. The most cited keywords formed 4 clusters, and “mesenchymal stem,” “mesenchymal stromal cell,” “stromal vascular fraction” and “long term” were the most recently trending keywords. CONCLUSIONS: This article provides a summary of the current research status focusing on fat grafting and ASCs. More efforts will be made to promote the application of ASCs in fat grafting. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE V: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00266-022-03201-1.