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[Interview] Director Shin Dong-jin of SC301 Clinic: "My Role Is to Discover Each Person's Hidden Charms"

By 2014-10-16No Comments

[Interview] Director Shin Dong-jin of SC301 Clinic: "My Role Is to Discover Each Person's Hidden Charms"

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[Reporter Im Hye-jin] Recently, the power of stem cell therapy in the medical market is growing stronger day by day.

This is due to the appeal of stem cells, which possess the ability to differentiate into desired cells such as fat cells, chondrocytes, bone cells, and muscle cells. Furthermore, because they have the capacity for rapid healing and recovery through the induction of angiogenesis, anti-inflammatory effects, and immunosuppressive responses, they are increasingly being actively utilized not only for intractable diseases and arthritis but also in cosmetic surgery.

In this context, there is a person who was the first in Korea to introduce breast and facial surgery utilizing stem cells to a field of plastic surgery that had previously relied solely on artificial implants. That person is Director Shin Dong-jin of SC301 Clinic.

Director Shin has been developing stem cell breast augmentation since 2007 and currently serves as the president of the Korean Society of Stem Cell Plastic Surgery. I was curious about the reason he introduced the concept of stem cell plastic surgery to Korea.

"Stem cell cosmetic surgery is an upgraded version of conventional fat grafting. While traditional simple fat grafting is a good procedure, the survival rate of the transplanted fat was often low, leading to frequent instances of injecting excessive amounts. This resulted in significant side effects such as swelling and bruising, so we introduced stem cell cosmetic surgery to address these issues."

Autologous fat grafting gained immense popularity for its ability to restore volume to sunken areas of the face and enhance the volume of small breasts, all while having minimal side effects. Additionally, the fact that it extracts unwanted fat from the thighs or abdomen and injects it into the necessary areas was cited as a major advantage. However, a procedure that takes this a step further has now emerged.

In short, stem cell cosmetic surgery involves adding extracted stem cells to conventional simple fat grafting. This is where the significant difference lies in the engraftment rate. The key feature is that the addition of stem cells increases the engraftment rate of the transplanted fat by more than twofold.

"Engraftment rate refers to the percentage of tissue that survives when injected from a specific area to another desired area. Statistically, the engraftment rate for conventional simple fat grafting was around 20–30%. However, in the case of stem cell cosmetic surgery, we were able to increase the engraftment rate to over 70%."

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In fact, if you examine Dr. Shin’s papers, you can see the results regarding the engraftment rate of stem cell-based cosmetic surgery. As mentioned earlier, Dr. Shin continues to consistently conduct research and publish papers. He is not merely a doctor on the operating table, but is also not abandoning his title as an academic physician.

As with any surgery, post-operative satisfaction with stem cell cosmetic surgery has never been 100%. There is always bound to be some degree of inadequacy and a sense of dissatisfaction. However, I believe that a doctor should strive to bring surgical satisfaction as close to 100% as possible. For this reason, I have not stopped my research.

Director Shin currently has experience with over 2000 stem cell cosmetic surgeries. I was curious about the emotions he felt when he finished his first surgery and now that he has completed over 2000.

“At first, I was filled with nothing but enthusiasm. I was confident in my ability to perform surgeries. However, after performing thousands of surgeries, I have come to realize that a doctor simply successfully executing a procedure does not constitute a good outcome. As I began to consider and deliberate over the systems that need to be applied to the patient before and after surgery, I suppose you could say I became more humble (laughs).”

Director Shin Dong-jin has consistently strived for the beauty of diverse women. What is his definition of beauty?

The sense of beauty is very subjective and personal. That is why I tend to consider the patient's standards rather than my own when it comes to post-operative results. Of course, I also have a certain degree of universal beauty standards. I believe that only by striking that balance can the patient maintain their beauty for a long time.

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Recently, Director Shin received the Minister of Health and Welfare Award at the Asia LOHAS Food & Environment Awards Expo. This was because his cosmetic surgery technique using adipose-derived stem cells is recognized as an eco-friendly medical technology. He was selected as a recipient in recognition of his contributions to researching and developing stem cell cosmetic surgery.

“I wanted to develop eco-friendly stem cell-based plastic surgery and promote it beyond Korea to China and overseas. I believe that proper plastic surgery involves selecting surgical methods that minimize side effects for the patient and uncovering their hidden charms.”
(Photo source: wStar News DB)