Is facial stem cell therapy a good treatment?
The term stem cells have many people excited about their potential as the
secret to the Fountain of Youth I couldn’t believe my eyes when several
years ago I saw board-certified dermatologists selling stem cell creams
on late night infomercials late night infomercials are of course where the
most authentic science is broadcast currently the term stem cell is being
used for so many products and treatments that the actual scientific foundation
for this term is lost in all of this marketing noise it’s understandable why
there is confusion about the term stem cells I’ll discuss my perspective on the
general topic of stem cell based therapy for facial rejuvenation in my practice
I’m Dr. Amiya Prasad I’m a Board-certified cosmetic surgeon and
Fellowship-trained oculofacial plastic and reconstructive surgeon I’ve been in
practice in Manhattan and Long Island for over 20 years in the aesthetic field
a few years ago procedures refer to as stem cell facelift began to appear and
patients would inquire about these procedures first of all like many
marketing misnomers none of these procedures were actual surgical
facelifts in that there were no incisions or actual vertical lifting of
the skin they appear to be harvesting fat and then processing the fat with the
claim that a higher concentration of fat or adipose derived stem cells were being
injected under the skin for the purpose of improving volume loss and skin
quality so what are stem cells stem cells are types of cells which have
the ability to become more specialized cells in the body for example stem cells
in the bone marrow can turn into different types of specialized blood
cells such as red blood cells and white blood cells unfortunately many people
have been harmed by unethical practitioners offering stem cell
products to the point where the US FDA has taken action to stop the use of stem
cell products not approved by the FDA this is a quote from the FDA the only
stem cell based products that are FDA approved for use in the United States
consists of blood-forming stem cells hematopoietic progenitor cells derived
from cord blood so an adult stem cell is thought to be an undifferentiated or not
specialized cell found among differentiated or specialized cells in a
tissue or organ the adult stem cell can renew itself and can differentiate to
yield some or all of the major specialized cell types of the tissue or
organ this means that we can perform therapies which helped you through
activation of your own adult stem cells inside your body for example I use PRP
or platelet-rich plasma as well as acellular matrix both of which activate
your body’s adult stem cells so the FDA statement does not apply to treatments
where your stem cells are being harvested or activated and used in
certain clinical situations several of my colleagues myself included feel that
the term stem cell facelift is typically being used to rebrand fat grafting with
a higher price tag as has become the rule more than the exception
the marketing message is claiming benefit
which in my opinion are exaggerated at the most basic level there are three
questions both practitioners and consumers should ask 1 indications
what are the indications which make someone a candidate for a stem-cell
facelift 2 benefits what benefit does the stem cell facelift provide and are
the benefits superior to other options including fat grafting
3 predictability how predictable are the results of a stem-cell facelift there
are of course many more questions but let’s start with the question about
indications one indication for this procedure is facial volume loss since
this procedure is limited to adding volume below the skin
I see no advantage over any injectable filler or fat grafting since this type
of procedure is used to help people experiencing volume loss from facial
aging there is an inherent flaw in this treatment strategy age-related facial
volume loss is proportionally much greater at the bone level than it is at
the level below the skin whether a deficiency in facial bone structure is
due to genetics aging or a combination restoring volume at the bone level will
be more impactful than any material placed just below the skin I perform a
procedure called structural volumizing where I place a long-lasting hyaluronic
acid filler such as Juvederm Ultra Plus and Juvederm Voluma at the bone level
restoring volume at the bone level in the cheeks chin jaw angle and jaw line
creates facial balance which can be appreciated immediately and predictably
if anything Structural Volumizing or the Y lift results can Pier as if someone
actually had a surgical facelift in terms of benefits and predictability
differentiating the benefits stem-cell facelift have over fat grafting remains
unclear scientific hypotheses can be made to support the potential benefits
of fat or adipose derived stem cells but do clinical results substantiate these
hypotheses it appears that clinical results do not
support benefits and predictability of so-called stem cell “facelift” as
advantageous over fat grafting that’s a problem since fat grafting is fairly
unpredictable in that 30 to 70 percent of the volume placed doesn’t survive in
addition there’s a high incidence of lumps and irregularities
not to mention asymmetry procedures which are highly predictable safe and
effective tend to stand the test of time I can personally attest to this
firsthand when I first went into practice more than 20 years ago I
questioned the need for general anesthesia for many cosmetic surgical
procedures so I developed my own approach to performing procedures such
as eyelid surgery facelift surgery as well as body procedures using local
anesthesia at the time I received a lot of backlash from many surgeons some of
those same surgeons today have incorporated my approach into their
practice close to 10 years ago I recognized the potential benefit of PRP
with a cell or a cellular matrix for the non-surgical treatment of male and
female pattern hair loss in spite of my showing so many successful outcomes hair
transplant surgeons and dermatologists were dismissive and openly derogatory
about both PRP and a cell so what happened the system I developed was
effective for hundreds of patients coming to me every year from around the
world that in the last two years many doctors decide to just start trying to
use PRP and PRP with a cell for hair loss treatment they’re not so dismissive
anymore the same can be said when I started using PRP for skin rejuvenation
and scar treatment more than 10 years ago the German philosopher Arthur
Schopenhauer said, “All truth passes through three stages first it is
ridiculed second it is violently opposed third it’s accepted as being
self-evident” having experienced Schopenhauer’s observation throughout my
career I won’t dismiss the concept of stem cell facelift as not having a
potential future the value from harvesting fat and using the adult stem
cells in fact for skin quality improvement is a good concept however
unless the procedure can meet my standard for safety predictability and
quick recovery I will continue to employ other strategies for my patients who
would have been potential stem cell facelift candidates again working from
the inside out for bone volume loss and minimal skin sagging I perform
Structural Volumizing meaning are placed long lasting hyaluronic acid fillers at
the bone level to enhance the cheekbones chin jaw angle and jawline it’s
important for consumers to understand that achieving this outcome is very much
technique dependent I routinely see people who had filler placement in their
cheeks and they know that they have more volume but they don’t feel like they
look like themselves this is because the filler is really in this soft tissue
under the skin and spread around creating a rounded
appearance for the purpose of skin quality improvement below the skin
within the fatty layers of the skin I use platelet-rich plasma or PRP PRP has
been studied extensively and has been shown to improve many of the elements
which contribute to good skin quality including blood supply and the vitality
of the fat cells below the skin I have helped several patients whose skin was
compromised from multiple infections scarring and surgical trauma with PRP as
well as through combining PRP with a cellular matrix in fact several studies
have shown improved fat graft survivability when PRP was used I use
PRP below the skin and I combined PRP with hyaluronic acid to enhance the
backbone of the skin called the dermis using a specialized device we refer to
this as skin boosting superficial or epidermal skin management is customized
but broadly speaking for pigmentation vessels and skin quality I use both non
ablative lasers like a Q switch YAG laser and a blade of lasers like
fractional and erbium or co2 laser for general epidermal management I use
hydro facial which is a water-based microdermabrasion with active
ingredients such as glycolic acid I have throughout my career pursued and
advocated innovation I continue to be optimistic about the future of stem cell
technology as far as stem cell facelifts thread lifts and thermal heating devices
claiming to lift faces without surgery or concerned it’s important that you
make an informed decision about the risks benefits and I cannot
stress this enough the alternatives of a proposed revolutionary procedure similar
to pharmaceutical advertising the marketing of aesthetic devices and
services is so persuasive that the general public is essentially being
trained to want these products without the benefit of unbiased and objective
professional guidance more than ever it is invaluable for you to have a
specialized physician on your side to help you understand what is
appropriate for your individual concerns I see so many people every year who
decided to respond to an ad for some aesthetic deal only for them to have to
deal with the consequences of their decision and become consumed with regret
this is followed up by them spending an inordinate amount of time pursuing a
solution unfortunately you can’t hit a reset button I hope you found this
information helpful thank you for your question