Regenerative medicine, also known as biologic therapy, utilizes the body’s own cells to stimulate healing of an injured area and facilitate recovery  to help you heal faster. This therapy is being utilized by orthopedic surgeons to facilitate healing of  arthritis, ligament or cartilage injuries, tendonitis, inflammation, muscle tears and many other orthopedic ailments for which surgery is either premature or not possible.

So how does this work?  LIPOGEMS® (www.understandlipogems.com) is a single-use, FDA cleared device for harvesting, processing and injecting adipose tissue. The FDA cleared the system for clinical use in 2014 as a way to inject micro-fragmented fat to repair injured or damaged tissue and provide cushion and structural support. LIPOGEMS® uses a closed-loop, disposable system to wash, rinse and resize autologous adipose tissue for same-day injection. Adipose tissue contains a rich network of healing proteins, called growth factors, and supporting cells, called pericytes. When this microenvironment is accessed by the Lipogems system, it allows these cells to offer  support to damaged tissue. Fat is a versatile tissue that plays essential roles in the way our body functions, but one of the most remarkable is the role that fat may play in how we heal. A variety of studies over many decades have been conducted exploring the healing potential of fat. There is even documentation describing the use of fat to accelerate the healing of soldiers’ battle wounds during World War I! So, what have we learned from history and research about the healing potential of fat?

FAT is the highest quality tissue

Adipose tissue contains a high concentration of important reparative cells that may help support and enhance the healing process.

FAT provides enhanced healing for large complicated hernias

Adipose tissue is a structural tissue that may help the healing process leading to a more durable repair. Microfragmented adipose tissue from the LIPOGEMS device may be used for patients who are undergoing repair of complex hernias.

FAT GETS A BAD RAP

In the past, FAT has been characterized as being bad for us; something to eliminate from a healthy diet and something to work off of our midsections. However, research has shown that not only is consuming certain types of FAT beneficial to our health, our own body FAT has many properties that are essential to optimize the body’s function, including cushioning and support for our joints and help support the repair of damaged or injured tissue.

Your own FAT tissue is vital to your body’s health and well-being; it is used as an energy source, insulates and cushions your body, and is essential to the proper function of your nerves and muscles. Additionally, your fat can help cushion and support structures and speed healing leading to lower recurrence rates.  In short, FAT doesn’t deserve its bad reputation!

Advantages of using FAT in Complex Hernia Repairs

• FAT is minimally invasive to harvest
• Most people have a lot of extra FAT
• FATis the highest quality tissue
• FAThas 100-500 times more reparative cells than other similar tissue.7
• Research has shown that as a person ages, their FATmaintains its reparative properties unlike other similar tissue, such as bone marrow, which may lose healing capacity with age.
• FAT contains many supportive and reparative cells that help to promote a healing environment throughout the body.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIPOGEMS & STEM CELL INJECTIONS?

LIPOGEMS

• FDA Cleared
• Better together – keeps all the cells together
• Offered at a reasonable cost

Stem Cell Injections

• NOT FDA Cleared — The Department of Justice and FDA are seeking permanent injunctions on these centers
• May make unverified claims
• Injection clinics that offer “stem celltherapy” charge high costs without any evidence of safety or efficacy.

HOW EXACTLY DOES LIPOGEMS WORK?

LIPOGEMS may provide an additional option to help patients with complex hernias heal faster and hopefully with a more durable repair with a lower recurrence rate.

Microfragmented adipose tissue processed by the LIPOGEMS System is used to support and help the natural healing process by supporting the repair, replacement, reconstruction of damaged or injured tissue.

The LIPOGEMS minimally invasive procedure is performed in a physician’s office or in the operating room during your surgery.

The fat is first harvested, gently processed, and cleaned with the LIPOGEMS device to be delivered into areas in the body with the potential of aiding your own cells to promote healing.

THE LIPOGEMS PROCESS

FAT HARVESTING PROCEDURE

In a minimally invasive and immediate procedure, the physician will make a tiny puncture through your skin and collect a small amount of fat from either your midsection or “love handles”.

GENTLY PROCESSING YOUR FAT USING SALINE

Next, the collected fat will be processed in the unique Lipogems device using only sterile saline solution to remove contaminants. During this process, your fat is washed, rinsed, and
resized into smaller clusters while keeping the natural beneficial properties of your fat.

LIPOGEMS IS DELIVERED INTO THE BODY AREA(S) TO ALL THE PATIENT TO HEAL THE NATURAL WAY

Since the Lipogems process micro-fragments the fat, the size of Lipogems tissue is ideal to facilitate healing in the treatment site. The physician will then “paint” the Lipogems tissue onto the hernia mesh prosthesis.

ARE YOU A CANDIDATE FOR LIPOGEMS?

You might be a candidate if:

• You would like to explore Lipogems as an adjunct to a major surgical procedure for your complex hernia repair and abdominal wall reconstruction
• Your doctor determines Lipogems may be used in addition to your surgery.
• Lipogems is offered only to patients who have complex hernias requiring the use of mesh for abdominal wall reconstruction.

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