Safety and Efficacy of Stromal Vascular Fraction Enriched Fat Grafting Therapy for Vulvar Lichen Sclerosus

Background Lichen sclerosus is an inflammatory dermatosis of unknown etiology which currently has no cure. Most treatment guidelines recommend the use of ultrapotent topical corticosteroids. However, the relapse rate is usually high. Through a retrospective study we evaluated the efficacy and safety of stromal vascular fraction of adipose tissue as therapy for lichen sclerosus. Material and methods For this retrospective review, we obtained data on patients with vulvar lichen sclerosus treated with autologous fat grafting enriched with adipose derived stromal vascular fraction cells. Data collected through a modified vulvo-vaginal symptoms questionnaire were analyzed before treatment, six months and 24 months after treatment. The 19 items questionnaire was subdivided in four categories: symptoms, signs, social functioning and sexual functioning. Global scores and partial scores for each category were analyzed using paired t-test. For all statistical analyses, a value of p <= 0.05 was considered statistically significant. All data are presented as mean +/- SD. Results Thirty nine patients were included in the study. Thirty seven patients (94.87%) experienced a significant decrease in global score at six months and 24 months after treatment (p < 0.05). Decrease in scores were also statistically significant between pretreatment and 24 months after treatment for each of the four questionnaire categories - symptoms, signs, social functioning and sexual functioning (p < 0.05). Conclusions This retrospective study showed that the use of autologous fat grafting enriched with adipose derived stromal vascular fraction is safe and leads to significant and long lasting improvement in patients with vulvar lichen sclerosus.