Stem cell breast augmentation - hype or reality?
Los Angeles plastic surgeon Dr Steven Teitelbaum asserts that doctors who promote stem cells and hormone replacement as viable alternatives to plastic surgery are getting ahead of the science. "Everyone expects to see major advances in these areas in the coming years," says Teitelbaum. "No doubt, this is the future of plastic surgery. But it is not yet the present." Indeed, stem cell breast augmentation research remains in clinical trials involving small numbers of patients overseas.
Techniques to avoid plastic surgery
Dr. Karl-Georg Heinrich, a Vienna beauty and anti-aging expert sees things differently, issuing a press release that highlights three means by which invasive plastic surgery will get transformed into minimally invasive treatments:
1) Gentle surgery, done under local anesthesia, will replace highly invasive procedures such as liposuction surgery. Liposuction by use of microcannulas will, according to Heinrich, "make it easy on the tissue and allowing for precise shaping of body and face, followed by only minimal aftercare."2) Heinrich posits that stem cells that rejuvenate and regenerate tissue will make for "lasting breast augmentation without silicone" and eliminate operations, such as standard facelift, lid correction and wrinkle treatment with dermal fillers.
3) Hormonal Regeneration will trigger regeneration and rejuvenation from inside. Heinrich states hormones "will make you look 15 years younger and lead to radiant appearance and better fitness."
Gentle surgery not necessarily lower risk
Dr. Teitelbaum takes issue with the talk about using "microcannulas" to sculpt the face. "For starters, we lose fat in the face with age, and any effort to reduce it must be considered with great skepticism. Removing fat can make you thinner, but it doesn't make you look younger; in fact, it risks making you look older. And even with small cannulas, visible irregularities can occur." A few surgeons do facial liposuction, but they do it "judiciously and with great care," says Teitelbaum.
Stem cell tissue regeneration - We're not there yet
Stem cell-related tissue regeneration that replaces the need for breast implants is largely in the proof-of-concept phase of development. Echoing the comments made by Dr. Teitelbaum, Dr. Daniel Mills, an Orange County Plastic Surgeon, points out that "pragmatically, we're not there yet. Current fat injection procedures require 6 to 7 hours of surgery to add 300cc to the breasts. Or, one cup size improvement for $15,000 to $20,000." Past attempts to use fat injections for breast augmentation led to "breasts that feel like marbles with fat globules and cysts", said Dr. Mills.
Hormonal manipulation yet to be proven
Anti-aging hormonal manipulations are also considered unproven by some surgeons. Dr. Teitelbaum illustrates his concern that doctors touting hormonal replacement for rejuvenation cannot backup their claims. "Not a single study - not one - has ever been shown to extend life. The only thing that has been shown to do so in any primate is nutritional deprivation, not something many patients of mine want to practice."
Teitelbaum believes the key philosophical problem with hormonal replacement is defining "normal" hormonal levels: should a 50 year-old have average levels of a 50 year-old or a 20 year-old? If you replace a 50 year-old's hormone levels with a 20 year-old's, what will that do to his or her longevity and health? "No one knows. No one. And the interesting thing is that most all of the doctors touting these replacements are not endocrinologists (specialists in hormones). They are plastic surgeons and gynecologists and family practice doctors. It is just curious to me that those that really understand hormones are not by and large advocating this practice," states Teitelbaum.
Dr. Teitelbaum's parting advice: be extremely diligent in vetting the credentials of anyone who wants to put you on a hormonal regimen. "Yes, there are good physicians with happy patients, but so, too, are there many charlatans out there. And the strange thing is that these charlatans often have a great ability to be convincing, so be careful."
By Tom Seery
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