Magical breast augmentation with stem cells? Don't be swayed by glib talk.

One of the new medical technologies currently in the spotlight is 'stem cell treatment.' The field of cosmetic surgery is no exception.

Many doctors are receiving a positive response for extracting adult stem cells from adipose tissue and applying them in various cosmetic procedures, such as plumping up the breasts and filling in sunken, harsh-looking facial volume, as well as improving fine lines and dark circles. This is because the engraftment rate of stem cells, which was less than 50% during the initial trial and error phase of the procedure, has increased to 70%.

However, as stem cell-based cosmetic surgery gains attention, the reality is that it is difficult to distinguish the genuine from the fake. This is because, while the sources, extraction techniques, and transplantation methods of the stem cells vary, everyone claims to offer astonishing results. Nevertheless, the majority of hospitals promoting stem cell-based cosmetic surgery are misleading consumers by advertising without even possessing proper equipment. In particular, some hospitals inject excessive amounts of fat, leading to side effects such as fat necrosis or calcification.

Stem cells can also treat arthritis and ALS.

Treatments using adult stem cells, in particular, are being attempted for a wide range of conditions, from osteoarthritis—which has traditionally been treated with arthroscopic procedures or artificial joint replacement surgery—to intractable diseases such as Parkinson's disease and macular degeneration. Significant results are being shown, especially in cases of osteoarthritis where the knee cartilage, which protects the joint, is damaged due to aging or external impact. Until now, the treatment for osteoarthritis involved enduring the condition with early-stage drug injections and arthroscopic surgery, followed by artificial joint replacement surgery in the late stages. Treating patients with osteoarthritis has been challenging due to the nature of cartilage, which does not regenerate once damaged.

However, a treatment method has recently been developed to preserve joints by regenerating cartilage using stem cells extracted from the body's bone marrow, fat, and umbilical cord blood. Dr. Yong-Gon Ko, Director of Gangnam Yonsei Sarang Hospital, stated, "Using mesenchymal adult stem cells—which are in the pre-differentiation stage—derived directly from bone marrow and fat harvested from the patient's hip bone and buttocks significantly restores cartilage function." Dr. Ko added, "The application of stem cell therapy is recently expanding to the ankles, shoulders, and spine, and research is also underway to completely restore cartilage function using stem cells."

There are also six stem cell therapies approved globally, four of which were developed by domestic companies. These include 'Harticellgram-AMI' (manufacturer: Pharmicel), a treatment for acute myocardial infarction; 'Cartistem' (Medipost), a treatment for degenerative arthritis; 'Cupistem' (Antrogen), a treatment for Crohn's disease (a condition in which a hole forms due to inflammation extending from the rectum to the skin around the anus as a complication of Crohn's disease); and 'Neuronata-R' (CoaStem), a treatment for Lou Gehrig's disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).

Stem cell therapy is expected to demonstrate promising clinical results in more fields in the future, including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. A research team led by Professor Ji-Sook Moon at the CHA Medical Group Stem Cell Research Institute directly injected human placental stem cells into animals suffering from dementia; the results showed that the formation of amyloid protein, a substance that causes dementia, was suppressed, and cognitive function improved. Professor Moon stated, "Currently, in addition to Alzheimer's disease, we are conducting research on restoring cognitive impairment caused by natural aging using a mouse model, as well as research on other brain diseases such as Parkinson's disease and stroke."

Write down proper stem cell cosmetic treatments

As stem cell treatments gain popularity in the medical field, the number of related hospitals is on the rise. There are even more than 100 hospitals advertising that they perform breast augmentation using stem cells.

Until recently, the most common method of breast augmentation involved inserting artificial implants filled with saline or silicone gel. This accounted for approximately 95% of breast augmentation surgeries performed in Korea.

However, with this method, there is a possibility that the contents may leak out as the outer shell of the implant weakens after about 10 years. Therefore, instead of inserting implants that look unnatural, leave visible signs of surgery, and cause strong rejection due to the foreign material, autologous fat breast augmentation—which involves harvesting fatty tissue from the abdomen or thighs and transplanting it into the breasts—has begun to establish itself as an alternative. This is because it naturally enhances a woman's figure.

However, the reality is that only a small number of these hospitals are properly equipped with stem cell extraction equipment worth over 3 million won. The director of one clinic stated, “Most hospitals are misleading consumers by promoting stem cell cosmetic surgery while only transplanting autologous fat, which has a survival rate of only 20 to 30 percent.”

Autologous fat breast augmentation using stem cells involves separating stem cells from fat harvested from the patient's abdomen, mixing them with pure fat cells in a certain ratio, and injecting them into the breasts to reduce belly fat and increase breast volume, thereby creating a beautiful body shape. Shin Dong-jin, Director of SC301 Clinic (President of the Korean Society of Stem Cell Plastic Surgery), who has been publishing papers related to stem cell breast augmentation since 2008, stated, "As a result of injecting autologous fat adult stem cells into 200 women aged 20 to 50, stem cell treatment is effective enough to increase breast size by an average of about 5 cm regardless of age."

Director Shin said, “To increase the engraftment rate of stem cell breast augmentation, more than 5,000 million cells of adipose-derived adult stem cells must be administered,” adding, “Therefore, you must find a hospital that can effectively perform the anti-inflammatory effects of stem cells, differentiation of fat cells, and induction of angiogenesis.”

Original Article : http://www.hankookilbo.com/v/d6178618af0d49b1b7c9628bbb0617dd