[Chosun Ilbo] Tissue damage caused by surgery… Dreaming of tissue regeneration with 'stem cells'

Injection of artificial materials, such as implants, during breast augmentation
It may lead to tissue damage and secondary infection

If you use stem cells with minimal foreign body sensation
Increased fat cell survival rate to 76%
It is also effective in regenerating damaged cell tissues.

Surgery often involves incising and suturing necessary tissues in the body. However, this entails risks. This is because the process of incision and suturing can damage not only the inflamed area but also healthy tissues.

It can take up to several years for the surgical site to heal, and additional inflammation may occur. Furthermore, the medical community believes that patients may experience various aftereffects such as bleeding, fever, abscesses, and pneumonia. It is known that surgical infections account for up to 15% of all medical infection incidents.

Recently, as the number of plastic surgeries has increased, there are many cases where damage to body tissues is caused by surgeries performed for cosmetic purposes rather than for treatment. According to the 'Survey on the Social and Economic Status of Youth' conducted last year, one in ten people (10.4%) aged 15 to 39 underwent plastic surgery at least once.

For this reason, there are increasing attempts these days to minimize tissue damage caused by surgery by utilizing 'stem cells'.

◇ Stem cells effective for tissue regeneration

It was not until the late 19th century that modern surgical techniques were established. Although primitive surgical methods such as suturing and amputation were performed before then, the complete lack of knowledge regarding anesthesia and sterilization frequently resulted in death from surgical pain or secondary infections. In the mid-19th century, dentist William Green Morton publicly demonstrated an anesthetic surgical technique using ether to extract cavities and remove neck tumors.

In 1867, British physician Joseph Lister established 'aseptic technique' based on Pasteur's germ theory. This principle dictates that during surgery, doctors must sterilize their hands and the operating room, and wear clean gloves and gowns. Only then were patients able to escape the pain and risk of infection during surgery. Nevertheless, the physical burden of surgery remains significant.

While damage caused by unsanitary medical environments has been minimized, the possibility of various side effects remains, such as tissue damage resulting from the improper use of scalpels.

Shin Dong-jin, the representative director of SC301 Clinic who introduced stem cell plastic surgery to Korea for the first time in 2007, said, “Even 10 years ago, stem cell plastic surgery was an unfamiliar concept, but now there are many patients who are willing to undergo stem cell surgery even if it costs more,” adding, “There is a trend of women who were troubled by the side effects of implants, fillers, and autologous fat grafting turning to stem cell plastic surgery.”

He also stated, “The tissue regeneration and healing capabilities of stem cells have been proven in numerous papers, and various studies are currently underway.” Director Shin has previously announced research results showing that breast augmentation using stem cells increases the engraftment rate of fat cells from the existing 10–20% to an average of 76%.