Autologous fat transplantation for the treatment of abdominal wall scar adhesions after cesarean section

Abstract

Cesarean section results in scarring, which usually leads to adhesion between the subcutaneous fat and the abdominal wall muscle. The present study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of autologous fat grafting on scar adhesion to the abdominal wall after cesarean section. Thirty-six patients with scar adhesion to the abdominal wall after cesarean section were recruited and treated between October 2013 and December 2015. The adhesion between the subcutaneous fat and the abdominal wall muscle was carefully separated through a small incision in the original scar to form multiple subcutaneous tunnels. Aspirated fat was injected into the scar lesion and subcutaneous tunnels, and the wound was then sutured. The clinical outcome was evaluated by comparing the pretreatment and 1-year posttreatment photographs and Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) scores. All patients had a marked improvement in the appearance, texture, and depression of the scar during 12 months of follow-up. The 1-year posttreatment POSAS scores for the color, pain, pruritus, hardness, fullness, mobility, and appearance of the scar were significantly decreased compared with the pretreatment scores. Hematoxylin-eosin staining revealed adipocyte-like cells in treated scar tissue specimens obtained 1 year after treatment. None of the patients reported severe adverse reactions. Autologous fat grafting combined with adhesion release may be a good treatment option for abdominal wall scarring after cesarean section. This method is minimally invasive and effective in achieving good functional and esthetic outcomes.

Keywords:

• Abdominal wall scar
• cesarean section
• autologous fat grafting
• adhesion

Level of Evidence:

• Level VI
• therapeutic study

Ethical approval

This research protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee for Research of the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Kelly Zammit, BVSc, from Liwen Bianji, Edanz Editing China (www.liwenbianji.cn/ac), for editing the English text of a draft of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation, China [81272100, 81372065, 81871563]; the Science and Technology Program of Guangzhou [201508020253]; the Guangdong Medical Science and Technology Research Foundation [B2020028]; and a foster research fund from the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University [2015209].