Go to SC301 Plastic Surgery AI Consultation Request
Sera AI Consultation
Sera AI Consultation
Go to SC301 Plastic Surgery AI Consultation Request
Skip to main content
301 blog

Everyone Claims 'Stem Cell Breast Augmentation' Just Because It's Popular... What Are the Conditions for Being 'Real'?

By 2014-09-10No Comments

Everyone Claims 'Stem Cell Breast Augmentation' Just Because It's Popular... What Are the Conditions for Being 'Real'?


Recently, the power of 'stem cell therapy' in the medical market has been growing stronger day by day. The appeal of stem cells lies in their ability to differentiate into desired types, such as fat, cartilage, bone, and muscle cells, as well as their tissue restoration capabilities and rapid healing and recovery abilities through the induction of angiogenesis, anti-inflammatory effects, and immunosuppressive responses. Consequently, there is a growing trend to actively utilize stem cells not only for intractable diseases and arthritis but also in cosmetic surgery.

The most common type of plastic surgery using tissue engineering is fat grafting. As plastic surgery trends aim for "naturalness" and "safety," autologous fat grafting—in which a patient's own excess fat is injected into necessary areas instead of implanting implants for procedures such as breast augmentation and facial volume enhancement—is gaining popularity.

However, simple autologous fat grafting has a survival rate of only 20–30%, raising concerns that the volume may disappear rapidly shortly after the procedure. Stem cell breast augmentation is an improvement on this. Shin Dong-jin, director of SC301 Clinic (Medical Clinic & Dermatology) in Apgujeong, stated, “In stem cell fat grafting, stem cells are isolated from a portion of centrifuged fat, mixed with the centrifuged fat, and transplanted to the necessary areas,” adding, “It offers not only the ability to maintain volume but also therapeutic effects for fine wrinkles and melasma.”

He continued, “The reason stem cell breast augmentation looks more natural than autologous fat grafting is that it uses your own stem cells, which can be likened to a balloon,” explaining, “You can think of it as swelling up while maintaining the original shape of your breasts.”

As the number of people preferring stem cell cosmetic surgery increases, there are quite a few clinics misleading consumers with a proliferation of procedures that are merely "stem cell surgery in name only" and are in reality nothing more than autologous fat breast grafting. To be recognized as a "genuine" stem cell cosmetic surgery, several requirements must be met. Generally, one simply needs to verify whether the clinic is equipped with effective devices, a counter to check the number of administered stem cells, and accumulated know-how.

2014-09-10 13;57;25.jpg

Advanced stem cell and pure fat cell extraction equipment, such as TGI, HuriCell, and MultiStation, used in stem cell fat grafting fundamentally prevents side effects like calcification or unevenness and maximizes surgical efficacy. However, the reality is that not many hospitals possess a diverse range of these devices and utilize them appropriately. The key factor for the success of the procedure is the amount of stem cells injected, typically requiring the administration of over 1 million cells. A 'cell counter' helps verify this.

Director Shin Dong-jin has developed a breast augmentation method that fully utilizes the effects of stem cells, raising the engraftment rate of transplanted fat cells to over 70%, which he has verified through two research papers. He recently released the results of an analysis of stem cell breast augmentation outcomes for 200 patients aged 20 to 50 who were available for follow-up observation over the course of 2013. Regardless of age, breast circumference increased by an average of approximately 5 cm, and the women who underwent the procedure received injections of over 90 cc and up to 260 cc of fat and stem cells per breast. Recently, he has introduced an ultrasound machine dedicated to measuring breast volume to more objectively prove the breast volume enhancement effects of stem cell breast augmentation.

Director Shin is a leading figure who first introduced breast and facial surgery using stem cells in the field of cosmetic surgery, which had previously relied solely on artificial implants. As the president of the Korean Society of Stem Cell Plastic Surgery, he currently possesses experience in over 2000 stem cell cosmetic surgeries and received the Minister of Health and Welfare Award in the eco-friendly medical sector at the '3rd Asia LOHAS Food & Environment Awards Expo' last month.