Abstract: 【Abstract】 Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of autologous adipose-derived stem cell gel （SVF-gel） grafting in the treatment of depressed acne scars. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on data collected from 28 patients who underwent SVF-gel grafting treatment for depressed acne scars in the Department of Dermatology, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University from October 2018 to May 2021. There were 17 males and 11 females, aged 17 - 38 （26 ± 4.86） years. As for clinical types, 8 patients were diagnosed with boxcar acne scars, 14 with rolling acne scars, and 6 with acne scars with characteristics of the two types. The clinical acne scar weighted scale （ECCA scale） was used to evaluate the appearance improvement after the treatment, and patients′ subjective satisfaction scores and incidence of adverse reactions were recorded. Results After the SVF-gel grafting, the facial appearance of patients with depressed acne scars significantly improved, and the ECCA scores significantly decreased 6 months after surgery （before surgery: 52.5 ± 15.8 points; 6 months after surgery: 23.8 ± 10.2 points; t = 11.68, P < 0.001）. The subjective satisfaction rate of patients was 82.14% （23/28）, the incidence rate of adverse reactions was 17.86% （5/28）, and 5 patients experienced mild inflammatory reactions after surgery, including 2 with subcutaneous nodules. The secondary grafting rate was 67.86% （19/28）. Conclusion The SVF-gel grafting was markedly effective for the treatment of depressed acne scars, which is worthy of clinical promotion and application.

Key words: Cicatrix, Acne vulgaris, Transplantation, autologous, Subcutaneous fat, Stem cells, Treatment outcome, Adipose stem cell gel