Fat-Derived Stem Cells

Fat Contains Large Numbers Of Stem Cells Full Of Healing Growth Factors

Stem cells are full of healing growth factors that stimulate the regeneration of different types of tissues, including cartilage, muscle, bone, and fat.  They are found throughout your body but are especially concentrated in fat and bone marrow.  When stem cells are obtained from your fat or bone marrow and injected into another area, they hone in on injured or diseased tissues. 

The multiple substances included with and/or released by the stem cells have shown promising results in multiple medical conditions. Studies are showing that stem cell contents improve severe arthritis, orthopedic and spinal cord injuries, cardiac disease, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune diseases, and more. In musculoskeletal conditions, for example, stem cell treatments are used to decrease pain, speed the healing of fractures, and stimulate the strength of ligaments.

Many people don’t realize that bone marrow transplants, which have been safely used since the 1950s, are stem cell therapy. When the atomic bomb was developed, research was begun to find a way to replace bone marrow destroyed by radiation. It was found that when healthy bone marrow was transplanted, it restored the body’s blood-making capabilities.

The two richest sources of stem cells in adults are bone marrow and fat. Fat makes up around 15-20% of the body weight of an average person, and most people wouldn’t mind sacrificing a few ounces of it to obtain stem cells. Fat contains more of the type of stem cell that can differentiate into multiple types of cells than bone marrow, especially after middle age.

With over 30 years of experience performing joint injections and ten years providing fat transfers, Dr. Elliott has provided fat-derived stem cell and growth factor treatments since 2014. 

How An Emergency Physician Got Involved in Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Treatments

For fifteen years, my favorite part of being an emergency/trauma physician was performing procedures. That’s why I chose to go into aesthetic medicine when I became too frustrated by our country’s medical system.

While I was attending the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery conferences in the early 2000’s, I saw that a surgeon named Mark Berman always had the most impressive facial fat transfer results. He graciously accepted my request to observe him doing the treatments at his Santa Monica office in 2009. 

The visit was well worth it because Dr. Berman shared his techniques with me and impressed me with his passion and personality.  He became president of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, and at the yearly conference, he invited a veterinarian to present cases of racehorse leg fractures completely healed by fat-derived stem cells.  In a room with more than one thousand international physicians in attendance and one veterinarian, you could have heard a pin drop. It was a life-changing moment for me and probably many others. We had seen the future. I already had the equipment and the knowledge, and I now had a new way to help people heal. 

My Initial Experiences With Fat-Derived Regenerative Knee Treatments

The first person that I treated with fat-derived healing growth factors was my uncle (only relatives “volunteer” to let you practice new treatments on them) in 2014. He had bone-on-bone arthritis in his knee to the point of deformity and constant pain, but had been postponing a recommended knee replacement for over a year.

The morning after I injected his knee with the growth factors, he went for a bike ride and only had some discomfort where the fat had been withdrawn. Within the following three months, his knee pain improved by more than 90%, which continued for almost ten years. Now, eleven years after that single treatment, he rates his knee pain and functional improvement as about 40% better than before and is considering doing a second treatment eventually.

I did my second adipose growth factor treatment on my stepdad, who had both knees replaced about fifteen years earlier. About ten years after the replacements, he developed increasing pain above one of his knees and was told that it was due to the breakdown of the bone above the replacement. His orthopedic surgeon recommended replacing the replacement, which my stepdad wanted to avoid, and the doctor gave him the okay to try a fat-derived stem cell treatment with me.

I isolated the stem cells and healing factors from the fat I obtained and injected them into the weakened bone above the replacement. Over the following weeks, the pain above the knee replacement improved and was completely gone within two months. His orthopedic surgeon sent me a copy of the MRI he took five months later, which showed the bone had thickened where it was injected.  It’s now ten years later, and he’s had no more pain above the replacements. 

The Fat-Derived Regenerative Knee Procedure

The procedure for fat-derived stem cell therapy involves obtaining a few ounces of fat by mini-liposuction of the abdomen or flanks after the area is anesthetized. After the fat is withdrawn, the cells are broken up and the stem cells and growth factors are isolated. They’re then injected into the anesthetized part of the body being treated. There’s no sedation or general anesthetic needed, and patients can drive themselves home.

Fat-derived regenerative treatments are not covered by insurance yet, and like all medical treatments, individual results vary, results aren’t guaranteed, and there are associated risks.

You can find out if you’re a candidate for a fat-derived regenerative treatment by scheduling a complimentary consultation online, emailing me at dr@skinspirations.com, or calling 727.571.1923.