Stromal Vascular Fraction for Musculoskeletal Lesions

Abstract

Several clinical studies appear to demonstrate that intra-tendinous injections of stromal vascular fraction (SVF) are safe and effective in athletes suffering from recalcitrant Achilles tendinopathy and chronic lateral elbow tendinopathy. It has also been reported that intra-articular SVF injections appear to be effective and safe for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. Local application of SVF has also proven useful in chronic diabetic foot ulcers. Ready-to-use extracellular matrix/SVF gel appears to be a favorable therapeutic approach to facilitating articular cartilage regeneration in patients with chondral lesions. However, there are insufficient high-quality data to recommend SVF for athletes with sports soft-tissue knee injuries. Several experimental studies have suggested that SVF could be a good option to achieve bone regeneration. To confirm the usefulness of SVF in various musculoskeletal injuries and to recommend its routine clinical use, better designed studies are required.