Suburethral implantation of autologous regenerative cells for female stress urinary incontinence management: Results of a pilot study.

To assess the feasibility and the safety of treating female stress urinary incontinence (SUI) with suburethral implantation of a mixture of the stromal vascular fraction from adipose tissue and leukocyte-and platelet-rich-fibrin.

Patients with SUI were treated with a mixture of stromal vascular fraction and leukocyte-and platelet-rich fibrin. The stromal vascular fraction was obtained from enzymatic digestion of autologous adipose-tissue and added to an leukocyte-and platelet-rich-fibrin membrane. The mixture was transvaginally implanted into the suburethral area. A fraction of the Stromal vascular fraction sample was used for cellular characterization. Patients were followed for 9 months. Every 3 months, the patients were clinically evaluated with a cough- stress test and a validated-questionnaire. An MRI was performed preoperatively and 3 months after the procedure to assess tissue changes.

Ten patients received the surgical procedure. The validated-questionnaire revealed a subjective SUI improvement in nine patients 3 months after the operation and in seven patients 9 months after the operation. Eight, six, and four patients achieved a negative cough-stress test 3, 6 and 9 months post-injection, respectively. Flow cytometric analysis of stromal vascular fraction cell phenotypes revealed predominantly mesenchymal and endothelial cell heterogeneity. In total, we injected 0,18 × 106 to 13,6 × 106 cells. No adverse events were observed peri- or postoperatively.

These preliminary results suggest that the suburethral implantation of a combination of SVF and l-PRF is a feasible and safe modality for treating female SUI. However, evidence is lacking and further research are needed to clarify the respective roles of SVF and l-PRF in female SUI treatment.

European journal of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology. 2022 Sep 09 [Epub ahead of print]

Anne Maene, Gulcan Deniz, Cyril Bouland, Laurence Lagneaux, Pierre Philippart, Fréderic Buxant

Université Libre de Bruxelles, Medicine Faculty, route de Lennik 808, 1070 Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: ., Departments of Gynecology and Obstetrics, IRIS South Hospital, rue Jean-Paquot 63, 1050 Brussels, Belgium., Université Libre de Bruxelles, Medicine Faculty, route de Lennik 808, 1070 Brussels, Belgium; Departement of Stomatology and maxillofacial Surgery, CHU Saint-Pierre, 322 Rue Haute, 1000 Brussels, Belgium; Laboratory of Clinical Cell Therapy, Jules Bordet Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles, campus Erasme, Route de Lennik 808, 1070 Brussels, Belgium., Laboratory of Clinical Cell Therapy, Jules Bordet Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles, campus Erasme, Route de Lennik 808, 1070 Brussels, Belgium., Université Libre de Bruxelles, Medicine Faculty, route de Lennik 808, 1070 Brussels, Belgium; Departement of Stomatology and maxillofacial Surgery, IRIS south Hospital, rue Docteur Huet, 1070 Brussels, Belgium.