Targeted Fat Grafting: The Concept of Anatomic Restoration for Safe and Optimal Facial Rejuvenation

Bibliometric Analysis of Hot Trends and Future Prospects in Clinical Fat Research from 2014 to 2023

BACKGROUND

Significant advancements have been made in the field of clinically relevant fat research over the past decade. A systematic analysis of publications in this domain is essential. This study aims to identify research hotspots and evolving trends in clinically relevant adipose tissue research through bibliometric analysis.

METHODS

Publications related to fat clinical research from 2014 to 2023 were extracted and analyzed from the Web of Science (WOS) Core Collection database. The data from this 10-year period were divided into two 5-year intervals (2014-2018 and 2019-2023) for analysis. Various aspects such as author keywords, countries, institutions, authors, and journal co-occurrence were studied. The data were analyzed and visualized using VOSviewer.

RESULTS

After selecting the retrieval strategy, a total of 892 publications were extracted for the period 2014-2018 and 1622 publications for 2019-2023. Comparing the two intervals, the United States was the country with the highest number of publications (354 publications vs. 546 publications). The institution with the highest output was Peking Union Medical College (26 publications vs. 87 publications). The most prolific author was Klinger M (4 publications) vs. Hua Zuguang (18 publications). The most active journal was Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (178 publications) vs. Aesthetic Surgery Journal (244 publications). The most active research areas were focused on "fat grafting," "liposuction," and "body contouring," with a rapid increase in research related to "facial rejuvenation" using fat grafting, suggesting it may be the next research hotspot.

CONCLUSION

Clinical research related to fat is rapidly evolving. This study provides a visual network and trend analysis of fat research over the past decade.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE III

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Bioactive decellularized adipose matrix prepared using a rapid, nonchemical/enzymatic method for adipogenesis

Recent developments in the field of regenerative surgeries and medical applications have led to a renewed interest in adipose tissue-enriched mesenchymal stem cell scaffolds. Various advantages declared for the decellularized adipose matrix (DAM) have caused its extensive use in the transfer of stem cells or growth factors for soft tissue regeneration induction. Meanwhile, the long-term application of detergents toward DAM regeneration has been assumed as a risky obstacle in this era. Herein, a rapid, mechanical protocol was developed to prepare DAM (M-DAM) without chemicals/enzymes and was comprehensively compared with the ordinary DAM (traditional chemical method). Accordingly, this method could effectively hinder oils and cells, sustain the structural and biological elements, and contain a superior level of collagen content. In addition, more protein numbers, as well as higher basement membrane elements, glycoproteins, and extracellular matrix-related proteins were detected in the regenerated M-DAM. Also, superior adipogenesis and angiogenesis proteins were distinguished. The noncytotoxicity of the M-DAM was also approved, and a natural ecological niche was observed for the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells, confirming its great potential for vascularization and adipogenesis in vivo. The suggested technique could effectively prepare the modified DAM in variant constructions of tablets, powders, emulsions, hydrogels, and different three-dimensional-printed structures. Hence, this rapid, mechanical process can produce bioactive DAM, which has the potential to be widely used in various research fields of regenerative medicine.