'Stem Cell Breast Augmentation' that compensates for low engraftment rates and maintains full breasts for a long time

The biggest drawback of conventional fat grafting is that breasts sag after 6 months…

When injected together with stem cells, it increases to the 70% range.





Kim (23), a female college student, was determined to get breast augmentation surgery during her last winter break of college. She had always had a big complex about her small breasts, so she had been saving up money for the surgery through part-time jobs since she was 20. She decided to get 'autologous fat grafting' instead of implants because she was worried that if she had the surgery with implants, it would look unnatural as she got older.

However, a friend who had been struggling with similar concerns recently discouraged her from getting breast fat grafting, saying the effects were too short-lived. The friend grumbled, "I spent a lot of money on breast fat grafting, but the effects only lasted six months," and asked, "Do you know how disappointed I am with my breast volume gradually shrinking?" As a result, Ms. Kim is now wondering if there is another solution.

Fat grafting involves harvesting excess fat from areas such as the abdomen and thighs and transplanting it to necessary areas like the chest and face to restore volume and dimension. It is a procedure that was highly praised by Samantha Jones, one of the main characters in the famous HBO drama *Sex and the City*, who remarked that one can "become beautiful even after eating a Big Mac."

It is preferred by many people because it provides a natural improvement effect without the use of implants. However, the biggest drawback of this procedure is the 'graft survival rate.' Although the results are beautiful and natural, the survival rate is low at 20–30%, so the effect lasts for about six months.

'Stem cell breast augmentation' complements this. It is similar to conventional autologous fat grafting in that it involves harvesting excess fat and injecting it into the necessary areas, but it adds 'stem cells,' a hidden card that increases the survival rate of the grafted tissue. The stem cells used in cosmetic surgery are primarily adipose-derived adult stem cells.

Shin Dong-jin, Director of Apgujeong SC301 Clinic (and President of the Korean Society of Stem Cell Plastic Surgery), explained, “If only fat cells are transplanted, they are likely to be absorbed or lost to the original breast tissue after a short time.” He added, “To overcome this, extracting stem cells from adipose tissue and mixing them with purified fat cells in a specific ratio before implanting them into the breasts increases the engraftment rate.” 

First, stem cells are isolated from a portion of centrifuged fat, mixed with the centrifuged fat, and transplanted to the necessary area. It is suitable for breast augmentation due to its excellent ability to maintain volume. When performing stem cell augmentation, the engraftment rate can be targeted up to the 70% range, which is more than double that of conventional procedures.

Director Shin introduced the procedure, stating, “Stem cell cosmetic surgery is an upgraded version of conventional fat grafting.” He explained, “Although simple fat grafting is a good surgery, the survival rate of the grafted tissue is very low, and injecting excessive fat resulted in significant side effects such as swelling and bruising. This led me to research stem cell cosmetic surgery to address these issues.” He has been researching cosmetic surgeries, including breast augmentation using stem cells, since 2008. As a pioneer in this procedure, he currently serves as the President of the Korean Society of Stem Cell Cosmetic Surgery and possesses experience in over 2000 stem cell cosmetic surgeries.

However, due to the skyrocketing popularity, counterfeit procedures have emerged, making it difficult to distinguish the genuine product. Director Shin Dong-jin pointed out, “Less than 5% of clinics in Korea that claim to perform stem cell cosmetic surgery are equipped with proper equipment and have accumulated procedural know-how.” He added, “Considering that stem cell extraction equipment costs over 3 million won and that stem cell cosmetic surgery requires numerous trials and errors to mature, one must find a clinic capable of performing the procedure well.”

SC301 Clinic is the first private hospital to introduce a Cryo-Block System (CBS), enabling the healthy storage of residual fat remaining after surgery. Equipped with the latest stem cell extractors such as HuriCell, TGI, and Cha Station, the clinic rapidly and accurately extracts and separates stem cells using fully automated systems. Although the equipment is expensive, the clinic has fully equipped itself with genuine machines to ensure "guaranteed effectiveness."

Above all, if you are wondering whether you have received 'proper' stem cell surgery, you can check if they possess a 'cell counter' device that verifies the number of stem cells injected. Typically, over 1 million stem cells are administered for breast augmentation.