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Reduce the risk of side effects with stem cell breast augmentation instead of artificial breast implants

By 2020-08-11No Comments



[Medical Column] High-purity stem cells extracted from patients' abdominal and thigh fat and injected

Last July, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recalled Allergan’s textured breast implants (product name: Natrelle), used in breast augmentation, stating that the risk of developing anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) is about six times higher than that of products from other manufacturers.


Unlike Korea, where facial fat grafting is the focus, this incident disappointed many women hoping for breast augmentation in the United States, where body contouring such as breast enlargement is mainstream.


Since then, the American media has repeatedly reported on the dangers of silicone implants, cases of women who were delighted to receive a boob cake (so-called padded bra) as a gift after having their implants removed, and stories of people who died unjustly after breast implant surgery.

Anaplastic large cell lymphoma is a cancer caused by a problem with the immune system. It is a man-made cancer that occurs when implanted 'rough-surfaced breast implants' trigger an excessive immune response. It is estimated to occur in one out of every 3000 to 12,000 people. On the other hand, the incidence is relatively low with 'smooth-surfaced implants.' Therefore, currently, only the 'smooth type' is sold in Korea.

According to recent information, there are 620 patients with anaplastic large cell lymphoma worldwide, with at least 33 deaths. This is a slight increase from the 573 cases reported last August.

To avoid the potential risk of cancer caused by breast augmentation surgery using implants, prevention is paramount. The best course of action is to avoid artificial breast implant surgery, and the next best option is to avoid using 'textured surface implants'.

An alternative to breast implant surgery is autologous fat graft stem cell breast augmentation. While operating SC301 Clinic, I have performed over 5000 stem cell breast and facial surgeries over the past 15 years. Last February, I published a paper in the 'Oxford Journal,' published by Oxford University Press, reporting that the cell engraftment rate increased to 75.1% in breast augmentation using fat-derived stem cells and transplanting the patient's own fat.

Stem cell breast augmentation involves harvesting fat from areas such as the abdomen or thighs and then extracting high-purity stem cells from it. It is a "magic" procedure that combines pure fat cells and high-purity stem cells in a golden ratio and injects them into the breasts to boost the fat cell survival rate to over 70%. In contrast, simple autologous fat grafting has a survival rate of only 20–30%.

In addition to anaplastic large cell lymphoma, implant surgery results in spherical balls in approximately 40% of patients after about 10 years.Side effects such as shafting (hardening of the tissue surrounding the implant) or rupture may occur. Using autologous fat to restore volume to a small breast is safe, leaves no visible signs of the procedure, and provides a natural appearance.

Regardless of whether it is a first breast augmentation, a revision surgery, or breast reconstruction after cancer surgery, the advantage of stem cell breast augmentation is that it is free from side effects and can create a full, natural-looking volume.

Source: Chosun Ilbo (http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2020/08/10/2020081002966.html)