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A Facelift Alternative Using Patients’ Own Stem Cells
People who see aging as an ugly inconvenience usually turn to options like plastic surgery to nip and tuck their troubles away. Little do they know the answer for reversing the aging process might be found as close as in their own stomachs. Yes, Adult Stem Cell research has brought prospective plastic surgery patients a new option for fighting the signs of aging! No longer is surgery required for anti-aging treatment because Adult Stem Cells are now being used as an alternative to a facelift- with no surgery required!
The stem cells being used are taken from the patient’s own body fat- so they are whats known as autologous adult stem cells. And, because its the patient’s own stem cells there are no rejection issues.
In conjunction with the Beijing Tian Tan Puhua Hospital, which offers stem cell therapies to terminal Parkinson’s and spinal cord injury patients, the RNL Puhua Plastic and Cosmetic Medical Center, also in Bejing, offers stem cell therapy for the face that may reverse the aging process using the patient’s own stomach fat cells. The Puhua Center now offers several non-invasive beauty treatment alongside traditional plastic surgery mainstays like liposuction, breast enhancement and eyelid lifts.
The process for harvesting and using the stem cells works like this:
- Patients have fat cells removed from their stomach using a needle and local anesthetic.
- Stem Cells are extracted from the fat cells and multiplied.
- Two weeks later, the patient returns to hospital.
- Doctors inject the stem cells into the face in a series of shots that plumps out skin, erases wrinkles and gives the patient a youthful appearance.
Unfortunately, the United States always seems to be the last ones on the bus for these adult stem cell treatments. Currently, China is taking the lead in the Stem Cell Facelift race. For a paltry ¥28,000 (about $282, USD), patients can have this procedure done, but only oveseas. Included in the price is a stem-cell “top-off” six months later. Patients can also have their stem cells stored at the clinic for ¥1,500 (approximately $15, USD) per year. Stem cells typically have a shelf life of about 15 years. The clinic is currently the only place in the world offering the therapy, according to Ingela Palomäki, a former Beijing Tian Tan Puhua Hospital marketing representative and current director of Fortune Cookie, a stem cell product import/export firm.
The procedure is booming in China. South Koreans are flocking to the facility, after an aging celebrity Kyung-gyu Lee had the procedure done, with exceptionally positive results at the clinic’s inauguration less than half a year ago.
“Koreans are flocking here by the busloads for the treatment,” Palomäki says. “It’s buying time.”
With the plastic surgery industry in the United States in the billions of dollars annually, it seems all of the medical world are looking closely at the near future of this industry. Right now, this face lift alternative to surgery costs about $4,000 (including surgeons’ and recovery fees) + the cost of a trip to China. While the U.S. and other countries weigh the benefits of stem cell therapies, many patients from abroad are already coming to Beijing for therapies they hope might make them forever young.
January 12th, 2010 at 6:56 pm
i do not want to inject the stem cells into the face but
I want IV drip to the blood veins. can you do that?
May 24th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Thanks dude, I never knew this, much appreciated.