Stem cells, PRP, Growth Factors?
- Posted on: Mar 4 2020
Have you heard of regenerative medicine?
Simply put, it’s cutting edge medicine that utilizes your body’s own tissues to rejuvenate itself. Two categories of regenerative medicine that are very popular today are stem cells and growth factors.
Stem cell therapies have advanced incredibly over the past ten years. Much of the concern regarding the ethics of harvesting stem cells have fallen away as we’ve discovered new ways to obtain stem cells from our own bodies, specifically our fat. Pioneering doctors are now using stem cells for anti-aging and cosmetic purposes, although today it’s a bit of a Wild West out there, with unproven claims about the miraculous healing effects of stem cells being thrown about.
Therefore, at this time I am not recommending stem cell therapies for cosmetic use. However, there are studies currently being conducted which may change my mind in the near future.
So what about growth factors?
Growth factors have been used cosmetically for many years. Growth factors are proteins that regulate cellular function, stimulating cells to grow, heal, and transform themselves. Our platelets contain a plethora of growth factors, so when we isolate platelets from our blood, concentrate them, and inject them or infuse them, these growth factors can have a powerful rejuvenative effect.
This is why PRP (platelet rich plasma) has become so popular for healing injuries, growing hair, and even helping people look younger. Cosmetically, it’s most often applied to the skin after microneedling.
So how does PRP microneedling work?
When you undergo a microneedling treatment, hundreds of tiny holes are poked into the skin. These tiny holes can act as a conduit, allowing whatever is applied to the surface to seep into the deeper skin. Applying PRP after microneedling allows the growth factors to penetrate deeply, resulting rejuvenation from the inside-out. This can result in skin that looks smoother, less wrinkled, and more vibrant afterwards.
Regenerative medicine is definitely a buzzword in plastic surgery today. I expect that we’ll hear more and more about it in the near future!
Here are the latest episodes of my podcast, The Holistic Plastic Surgery Show. Please SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a single information-packed show!
Episode #179 – What They Don’t Tell You About Birth Control Pills with Dr. Jolene Brighten – Is your doctor educating you or your daughter about the potential short and long term effects of the pill?
My guest this week has made it her mission to educate women across the globe about the potential side effects of taking oral contraceptives. While millions of women have benefitted from the pill in countless ways, there may be unintended consequences you need to know about. These include gastrointestinal issues, sleep problems, weight gain, rebound acne, libido reduction, and many more.
We get to the bottom of the good, the bad, and the unknown about birth control pills on this educational and informative episode.
To learn more, listen HERE with Apple devices or HERE with Android phones.
Episode #178 – Cutting Edge Non-Invasive Treatments to Tighten This, Lift That, and Even Get a Six Pack with Dr. Jennifer Walden – Non-invasive cosmetic treatments are exploding in popularity. It seems every week there is a new device that offers a more effective way to tighten this, lift that, and even give you bigger muscles. On this episode, we’re going to introduce you to the newest technology in cosmetic medicine. Have you heard of Geneveve, Votiva, Emsella, Emsculpt, or the Big D Wave? No? Most plastic surgeons haven’t either!
These are just some of the newest, non-invasive cosmetic treatments being offered by my guest. You’ll learn how you can tighten “down under” in more ways than one, reduce stress urinary incontinence without even taking your pants off, enhance your abdominal muscles without doing a single sit-up, and even painlessly improve ED. We cover a lot of really cool plastic surgery “toys” on this episode, so it’s truly a must-listen.
Listen HERE on Apple devices or HERE on Android.
Tagged with: anti-aging, detroit, Dr. Anthony Youn, Dr. Jennifer Walden, Dr. Jolene Brighten, dr. youn, Growth Factors, Michigan, Microneedling with PRP, plastic surgery, Podcast, PRP, PRP Microneedling, stem cells
Posted in: Plastic Surgery News