The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) released a statement earlier this month about the use of stem cells in plastic surgery. According to a joint task force created by the two associations, more long-term data needs to be collected before aesthetic stem cell procedures are marketed to the public.

A small group of cosmetic surgeons in the United States are offering aesthetic stem cell procedures to enlarge the breasts and fill in wrinkles with the patient's own stem cells. The procedure involves the removal of the patient's own fat cells via liposuction. The fat cells are then transferred to a machine that processes the fat and produces a mixture that has a high concentration of stem cells. The stem cells are then injected into the patient's body to restore or add volume to specific areas.

After an evaluation of peer-reviewed literature and clinical studies, the ASAPS and ASPS joint task force found that there is not enough evidence to support the safety and efficacy of aesthetic stem cell procedures at this time. Further, cosmetic and reconstructive stem cell procedures should only be performed in clinical studies under Institutional Review Board approval and studies should be in complete compliance with IRB guidelines. In addition, surgeons should use FDA-approved devices and comply with all FDA regulations when conducting studies into the effectiveness of aesthetic and reconstructive stem cell procedures. Finally, the joint task force states that the marketing claims made by a handful of surgeons are not yet supported by enough scientific evidence.

"There are encouraging data from laboratory and clinical studies to suggest that the use of adult stem cells is a very promising field," J. Peter Rubin, MD, the head of the task force, stated in Boston at The Aesthetic Meeting 2011, the annual meeting of ASAPS. "But as our comprehensive review of the current scientific literature shows, the data available today do not substantiate the marketing claims being made to patients seeking aesthetic surgery and aesthetic medical treatments."