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There are a few procedures that are being called stem cell facelifts.  A fat transfer of your own fat to the face will contain some stem cells.  Some doctors are adding PRP (platelet rich plasma) which is harvested from your blood and contains some growth factors.  We are the only practice in the Northeast to have the Cytori Stem Source technology which allows us to take some of your fat and process it into stem cells and growth factors.  These cells are then added back to your own fat to supercharge the fat transfer.  Puffy looks to the face come from inexperienced doctors believing that they should put as much fat into the face as possible.  We have found that by using stem cell technology and improved fat processing techniques (puregraft) we can be much more subtle and precise in our results creating natural appearances as can be seen on our website.

Fat grafting in the properly chosen patient is often the most long lasting and effective procedure we do and we have over 10 year follow up of satisfied patients.  Many physicians try fat grafting and then discard it as not working but that is because they think it should be a simple procedure when in fact it requires training and practice to do properly.  Fat must be harvested, processed and injected with care to achieve excellent outcomes.

Tension is the pull that is put on the face to lift the tissues. Think of making a bed.  If we just tighten the top blanket, we have to pull very hard to make it appear smooth and it will loosen up quickly.  If we peel back all of the sheets and blankets they can be laid in place smoothly with little pulling and will stay in place.  In facelifting as in bedmaking,  tension is a bad thing and will lead to faces looking pulled and done.  Minifacelifts use minimal tissue elevation and a lot of tension on the skin.  This causes poor healing and distorted appearance.  The deep plane facelift requires the skill to perform an extensive tissue elevation but requires minimal tension to achieve the final result which looks natural for many years.

We routinely perform second and even third facelifts with no difficulty however often patients who have had a facelift are more in need of the volume provided by a fat transfer than another facelift.

We do a significant number of ethnic rhinoplasties.  The goal in these are to improve the nasal appearance and structure, without changing the ethnic characteristics of the patient.  In Asian noses we are generally building up the dorsum and narrowing the nostrils.  In African Americans it is generally a matter of changing nasal width and tip contour.  In most of these cases, the changes are more subtle than dramatic.

We do a significant number of ethnic rhinoplasties.  The goal in these are to improve the nasal appearance and structure, without changing the ethnic characteristics of the patient.  In Asian noses we are generally building up the dorsum and narrowing the nostrils.  In African Americans it is generally a matter of changing nasal width and tip contour.  In most of these cases, the changes are more subtle than dramatic.

Although there is always the possibility that altering the volume of the nasal passages can affect voice, in my forty years of practice I have operated on a number of professional singers without any adverse effect.

Fat is harvested using a gentle hand suction technique from areas of the body where there is excess fat. Even skinny woman will often have adequate deposits. The harvest gives the bonus of liposuction in these areas. The fat is then processed to remove unwanted cells and injected into the breast using small cannulas. There are no incisions in any part of the surgery and the entire surgery is done in a single operation. The procedure is done as an outpatient under mild sedation and has minimal downtime.

Fat is an ideal material for a natural permanent cosmetic breast enhancement.  Fat grafting can soften the appearance of existing implants. 

Fat can also be used for breast reconstruction.  It is the ideal treatment for post lumpectomy deformities and will dramatically improve the appearance and texture of radiation damaged skin.  Total breast reconstruction following mastectomy is also possible.

The discovery that our fat contains large amounts of adipose derived stem cells has led doctors to market standard fat transfers as “stem cell facelifts”.  There are technologies, such as the Cytori Stem Source which isolates stems cells from the fat in about an hour and allows the concentrated stem cells and associated growth factors to be added to fat that is then injected in a standard manner.  There are theoretical benefits in terms of fat graft survival and skin rejuvenation to the stem cell enhanced fat grafts.  The addition of PRP (platelet rich plasma) which comes from blood to fat grafts is also marketed as a “stem cell facelift” but there is no significant stem cell population in PRP only growth factors.