Background: Due to the evolving nature of the applications of adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSCs) and the rapidly growing body of scientific literature, it is difficult to generate a manual compilation and systematic review of ADSCs in plastic and reconstructive surgery.
Methods: Bibliographic records were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection and analyzed with CiteSpace.
Results: We retrieved 691 publications and their references. We identified 52 research categories. Interdisciplinary studies were common. The journals clustered into 13 subnetworks. The top institutions were Stanford University; University of Pittsburgh; University of Tokyo; University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, Davis; New York University; Tulane University; and University of Michigan. National Institutes of Health and National Natural Science Foundation of China provided the most generous financial support. Studies clustered into 22 topics. Emerging trends may include improvement of fat grafting, and application of ADSCs in wound healing, scleroderma, and facial rejuvenation.
Conclusion: The present study provides a panoramic view of ADSCs in plastic and reconstructive surgery. Analysis of journals, institutions, and grants could help researchers in different ways. Researchers may consider the emerging trends when deciding the direction of their study.
Level of evidence iii: 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 .
Keywords: Adipose tissue-derived stem cells; Bibliometric study; Plastic and reconstructive surgery; Web of Science Core Collection database.