Cellport Clinic Yokohama provides an advanced cosmetic surgery method called the CAL (Cell-Assisted Lipotransfer) soft tissue augmentation procedure.
The uniqueness of this new, innovative technology is a method of cell processing that makes the most use of the regenerative properties of a patient's own cells, and includes a lipoinjection method that safely transplants liposuctioned fat.
Of the 60 trillion cells in a human body, most live and die performing a particular function such as forming part of an internal organ, bone, or a nerve. Only a few among them, however, are special cells called "Stem Cells" that have the potential to become a particular type of cell.
A large number of stem cells exist in adipose tissue. When stem cells are transplanted into different parts of the body, they exist in the new areas as Adipocytes helping to form new blood vessels. As a result, the transplanted fat will survive in the surrounding tissue and become part of that tissue.
By using the regenerative properties of stem cells, transplanted fat is able to survive and be transplanted at the highest possible rate.
First, the mixed liquid element *1 is extracted from the fat aspirated from other areas. Next, the fat is divided into two parts and one part is stored for transplantation. Then, as many stem cells as possible are extracted from the other part.
Stem cells, in fact, contain other cells called Adipocytes; therefore, in the CAL soft tissue augmentation procedure, they are referred to as Adipose-Derived Cells (ADC). The ADC collected for transplantation are mixed with the stored fat. Then, many ADC are obtained from the liquid element that have been extracted first and are mixed with the stored fat as well. Therefore, the fat to be transplanted in the patient's body contains a high concentration of stem cells.
Compared with the normal adipose tissue in the body, only half the amount of the stem cells exist in liposuctioned adipose tissue, which are recovered after liposuction. This means that some stem cells are destroyed during liposuction. By extracting ADC using a special cell processing technique and mixing it with fat for transplantation, it is possible to transplant fat containing stem cells whose concentration is as high as inside the body.
Cellport Clinic Yokohama performs this cell processing at the Cell Processing and Surgical Unit *2.
What is a Cell Processing and Surgical Unit?
Regulations concerning the safety of human cellular /tissue-based medical products
| Differences from Conventional Lipoinjection |
| Asiprated fat contains relatively smaller number of stem cells compare to normal fat, because a half of stem cells in adipose tissue reside around vessels, which are left in your body after liposuciton. Therefore, if the fat is transplanted without doing anything else, cells function weakly and adipose tissue is absorbed into the body, and the desired results cannot be obtained. By using the CAL soft tissue augmentation procedure, these cells are transplanted with increased concentration; stem-cell poor aspirate fat is converted to stem-cell rich fat before transplantation. So, adipose tissue can survive at the highest permanent transplant rate. We call this treatment "Cell-Assisted Lipotransfer (CAL)". |
*1Saline solution injected upon liposuction, and oil element contained in adipose tissue.
*2 In the stem cells extraction process, chemical treatment and biological modification for the purpose of micropropagation and activation of cells is never conducted. Therefore, this process does not apply to the definition of "processing" (Public Notification No. 1314 of the Director-General of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Safety Bureau of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, dated December 26, 2000
[Japanese version only]). Also, the time required to complete the entire process of the extraction is about 1 to 2 hours. The extracted stem cells (cells including ADC) will be transplanted within a few hours without cryopreservation.
The fat mixed with stem cells is transplanted evenly by a lipo-transplant injector, in order to avoid the transferred fat from becoming a lump around the injected area. If a large amount of the transplanted cells is injected into one area, necrosis of cells occurs because blood is not supplied to the injected fat. (*3)The CAL soft tissue augmentation procedure transplants about 0.5ml of fat at a time, little by little into a wide area, in order to achieve maximum control of necrosis of cells.
| Differences from Conventional Lipoinjection |
| It has been reported that conventional lipoinjection has some problems: Blood is not supplied to the transplanted fat since the liposuctioned fat is transplanted in a clump. As a result, the fat develops fibrosis and calcification and becomes a lump. During the CAL soft tissue augmentation procedure, fat is injected little by little and blood is constantly supplied, so that the transplanted fat can survive with the highest permanent transplant rate. |
This is a mammogram of a patient who had breast augmentation using lipoinjection method from another clinic.
The transplanted fat under the mammary glands has developed calcification.
