Stromal Vascular Fraction (SVF) therapy and Mesenchymal Cell (MC) Therapy uses a patient’s own stem cells to help repair damaged tissues and repair injuries. These therapies are part of the Regenerative medicine field that is rapidly growing.  A few of the many things SVF and MC therapies are used for include reducing joint pain, increasing motion and flexibility, and treating tendon and ligament tears.

Everyone has stem cells in many areas of their body. Adult stem cells (also known as Somatic stem cells) are undifferentiated cells found throughout your body. In some adult tissues, such as bone marrow, fat, muscle and brain, discrete populations of adult stem cells generate replacements for other cells that are lost through normal wear and tear, injury or disease. They multiply to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues. Stem cells act as mother cells that have the potential to become any type of cell. Every organ and tissue in your body grew out of a cluster of stem cells early in development. They are the foundation cells and your own bank of self-healing. Scientific interest in adult stem cells is centred on their ability to divide or self-renew indefinitely and generate different cell types.

There are two types of stem cells therapies provided in clinics: Stromal Vascular Fraction therapy or Mesenchymal Cell Therapy.

 

What is Stromal Vascular Fraction therapy?

Adipose/fat tissue provides an abundant source of stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells for immediate administration and can also give rise to a substantial number of cultured, multipotent adipose-derived stromal cells (ADSCs).  ADSCs have demonstrated very similar phenotypic and functional characteristics to that of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells. They are isolated as part of the aqueous fraction derived from enzymatic digestion of lipoaspirate (collected during surgical liposuction procedure). This aqueous fraction, a combination of ADSCs, endothelial precursor cells, hematopoietic stem cells, endothelial cells, macrophages, smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts, lymphocytes, erythrocytes, pericytes, and pre-adipocytes among other various stem cell populations, is what is known as the stromal vascular fraction.

Initially, SVF /ADSC, was used for cosmetic breast enhancement, but this mode of treatment has found use in many diseases involving immune disorders, tissue degeneration, and ischaemic conditions. Since SVF contains growth factors, it has the ability to decrease the inflammation present in many diseases in addition to causing the growth and specialization of cells. SVF cells demonstrate regenerative potential in damaged tissues or organs through paracrine and differentiation mechanisms.

 

What is Mesenchymal Cells therapy?

Mesenchymal Cells therapy uses autologous multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) isolated from bone marrow stroma, MSCs are drawn to sites of injury, where they contribute to cellular repair and tissue regeneration through their multilineage differentiation capacity, immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects. They potentially can differentiate into cartilage, bone and decrease inflammation and pain.

 

What are Stromal Vascular Fraction therapy and Mesenchymal Cells therapy used for?

Stem cells, that are stored in your own body, are able to respond to problems in other areas of the body that are causing pain or dysfunction, providing natural help with healing, repairing injury or condition. They can repair damaged tissue, including injury, speed up tissue growth and regeneration, including post-surgery repair, reduce inflammation, Improve blood flow by creating new blood vessels and also reduce areas of internal or external scarring.

A list of common conditions Stromal Vascular Fraction therapy and Mesenchymal Cells therapy can help are below:

Cosmetic applications:

    • Breast augmentation/ enchantment
    • General scar, burn, skin and wounds healing, like Bed Sores, Phlebitic Ulcers, Diabetic foot ulcer
    • Facial rejuvenation

 

Disease conditions:

 

What are the Benefits of Stromal Vascular Fraction and Mesenchymal Cells therapy?

Over all Stromal Vascular Fraction and Mesenchymal Cells therapy treatments are minimally invasive, non-surgical same day procedures with no risk of rejection, minimal recovery time and minimal worry. You are fully awake and ready to go home within a few hours after injections in the affected area.

Here are the top 5 benefits to be aware of:

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Avoid surgery and its risks and many complications

Treatments are minimally invasive, non-surgical procedures, which gives patients an alternative to painful surgery and lengthy recovery. The procedures are performed in an outpatient setting and only takes a few hours. No general anaesthesia is required and most patients don’t need post-operative pain medication. Also, patients typically return to work within a few days and they resume physical activity much faster than after invasive surgery.

Shorter downtime and rehabilitation

One of the most time consuming factors of any injury is not always the treatment itself, but actually the recovery time. With Stromal Vascular Fraction and Mesenchymal Cells therapy, there are far less risk involved than surgery and recovery time is much shorter compared to surgery.

No use of general anaesthesia

Do you not like the way general anaesthesia makes you feel? Or do you simply get anxious at the thought of being put under? Stromal Vascular Fraction and Mesenchymal Cells therapy may be just what you need as they do not require the use of general anaesthesia. They provide a safe increasingly effective non-surgical alternatives to treating medical conditions using the body’s own natural ability to repair itself without the use of medication.

Same day procedures

The best part, after comprehensive examination and review of your case, blood tests & radio-imaging scans are done to establish a baseline for your pre-existing condition, is that Medica Institute Therapies are an outpatient same day procedures, where the Consultant will decide which line of treatment is most suited to your case. In certain cases it may be a combination of more than one treatment protocol. For some patients however, the complete protocol is a series of treatments in several sessions.

Safe procedures with No risk of rejection and No communicable disease transmission

Since you undergo an autologous (from self) transplant with the cells that originated within your own body, your immune system has no reason to attack them and is in turn much safer than other outside sources, there is no risk of contracting a transmittable infectious disease from a donor patient also. In fact, studies thus far have indicated no safety issues with autologous cells. Because they are your own cells, the risk of rejection is eliminated.

The increased risk of heart attack, as found to be associated with knee and hip replacement surgery, is not present with Stromal Vascular Fraction and Mesenchymal Cells therapy, either. Like any procedure, there is a minute risk of infection at the sample collection and at the injection site. To minimize that risk the procedure is carried out under strict sterile conditions.

What are the necessary preparations before procedures?

First, in order to determine if you are a good candidate and will benefit the most from Stromal Vascular Fraction or Mesenchymal Cells therapy, you will need to schedule an appointment with our Clinic to have assessment done by our Consultant, who will review your case, medical records, blood tests & radio-imaging scans and determine if you are a qualified candidate for Medica Institute therapies.

The choice of treatment is then at the discretion of the Consultant and is based on your unique case. In certain cases it may be a combination of more than one treatment protocol. The options are: Stromal Vascular Fraction, Mesenchymal Cells therapy, Platelet-rich plasma – PRP therapy and Prolotherapy.

 

What can I expect after the Stromal Vascular Fraction and Mesenchymal Cells treatment?

When do I see results?

Since this therapy is an orthobiological treatment that requires time for the cells to restore the damaged or injured areas, patients will not feel the effect of the injection immediately. On average, most patients will start to see signs of improvement in the form of reduced pain or increased function within 30 days.

The first day after the treatment, you might experience mild discomfort at administration site which should not be restrictive, mild pain in the treatment area may persist for a day or two. This can be alleviated by rest and if needed simple pain killers may be prescribed.

Improvement in one or two days is common. This is due to the strong anti-inflammatory effect of the growth factors associated with adult mesenchymal cells. This anti-inflammatory effect lasts from 2-3 months. From there, you can see continued gradual improvement as the cells help provide healing to the affected area.

Injuries or conditions may or may not require repeat treatment. Typically it is best to wait 3-6 months before considering it. Most of the time repeat treatment is done because some improvement has been seen and more is sought.

Reviews of your progress may extend up to 6 months following the procedure. Reviews can be by means of a clinic visits or alternatively for your ease by video / phone call.

You will be asked during the period of follow up to keep an accurate record of your progress to compare to your starting point.

The final outcome of the treatment and extent of improvement varies from one patient to another depending on type and severity of the condition, age, etc…