Original title: Platelet-rich plasma as an adjuvant therapy for intrauterine adhesions: a narrative review of mechanisms, clinical efficacy and combination strategies
Dandan Xiong, Guangli Mao, Jianwu Zhao, Dan Zi +1 · September 2026
Intrauterine adhesions are bands of scar tissue inside the womb. They can cause light periods and infertility. Doctors often cut the scars away, but scars return in up to 60% of severe cases, and the womb lining often stays too thin. Standard treatments fail to fix this problem well. To help, researchers reviewed platelet-rich plasma, or PRP, which is made from a patient's own blood. PRP contains many growth factors that reduce swelling, build new blood vessels, and help tissue heal. Doctors test PRP alone or mixed with stem cells, gels, or scaffolds after surgery. The review found that PRP shows promise for helping the womb lining regrow, improving its thickness, and restoring menstrual flow. Most studies report good results, but a few found no benefit for fertility. Because past studies used different methods, doctors still need large clinical trials to confirm these results.
Imagine you have a garden bed where the soil has become hard and crusty, preventing seeds from sprouting. You till the soil to break up the crust, but the soil quickly hardens again. Now suppose you mix in a special compost made from your own kitchen scraps that helps the soil stay loose and encourages roots to grow. In this paper, the scarred uterus is the hard soil, the surgery is tilling, and the platelet-rich plasma is the compost that helps the uterine lining regrow and stay healthy.
Scarring inside the uterus can cause infertility and heavy bleeding after surgery returns in up to 60% of severe cases. Current treatments like hormones or stents often fail. Platelet-rich plasma, made from a patient's own blood, may help the lining regrow and reduce scarring, potentially improving chances of pregnancy for millions of women.
The abstract states the review is narrative and the evidence is inconclusive due to heterogeneity in study designs, patient populations, and PRP preparation protocols. It does not establish definitive impact on live birth rates, and some studies found no improvement. The review itself does not present new experimental data.
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Platelet-rich plasma as an adjuvant therapy for intrauterine adhesions: a narrative review of mechanisms, clinical efficacy and combination strategies — Dandan Xiong, Guangli Mao, Jianwu Zhao et al. — Annals of medicine — doi:10.1080/07853890.2026.2731715
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.