Highlights
Regenerative medicine therapy is starting to be very interesting in the medical field. We are exploring different possibilities to use regenerative medicine for a wide range of diseases like stroke, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, etc, so we have a really wide application of stem cells. In plastic surgery, the plan always is to find a way that is less invasive for the patient but at the same time more efficient to give the patient a better outcome. Cell therapy is developing a lot in plastic surgery together with fat grafting. Fat grafting is the father of cell therapy because it started only as a volume therapy, with cell therapy we upgrade fat grafting to something better.
Stem cells are single cells that can replicate themselves and at the same time, they can differentiate into different cell types. Different levels of stem cells are totipotent, pluripotent, and multipotent. Totipotent is the father stem cells that can differentiate to all the different tissues while the multipotent is already taken a line in the differentiation of the cells and can only develop to specific cells. Stem cells can be found in many places in our body like the brain, blood vessels, bone marrow, and even muscles. We taught that bone marrow is the main source of stem cells but once we discovered that fat is even richer in stem cells, we started to use it because it was more accessible, and harvesting it is less invasive for the patient. These adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are mesenchymal and multipotent.
Paracrine properties of Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) growth factors are angiogenesis effect, anti-fibrosis activity, anti-apoptosis, and chemoattraction properties. We started to use fat grafting for face rejuvenation to have volume effects. It was not only a volumizing effect, it was also a full regeneration of the quality of the skin. We can use autologous adipose-derived cells (ADSCs) for skin rejuvenation, wound healing, skin disorder treatment, soft tissue augmentation, and scar improvement.
The preliminary report for this kind of treatment is that the adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells can be used for different applications. The result will be shown in a variable time and the treatment is repeatable and can be performed with 6 months interval between the sessions.