Lipogems®

Why are people not ready for major invasive surgery? 

“Many people are trying to avoid or prolong the need for surgery for a variety of reasons.  Some individuals may be reluctant to undergo major surgery or simply are not surgical candidates.  Others may be seeking options that are more natural and/or minimally invasive said Dr. Radfar-Baublitz. “I am married to an orthopaedic surgeon and we both agree that surgery is often not the first or only option. In fact, patients are stuck in the “treatment gap” for 9-20 years and even 40 years for younger patients.  The treatment gap is the time period between limited relief or failure of conservative efforts (such as physical therapy, pain medications, activity modification, viscosupplementation) and the time when they undergo surgical intervention. Our goal is to help these patients by providing FDA cleared options backed by peer-reviewed scientific literature to help them live happier and healthier lives. 

Are corticosteroids beneficial? 

“One of the most fascinating aspects of the human body is its ability to heal itself.  Reparative medicine can harness those abilities and amplify this response.  A clear advantage of using your own tissue is the decreased risk of rejection and infection.  Corticosteroids are synthetic, short acting pain relievers and patients will often have to come in multiple times for corticosteroid injections.  Sometimes patient’s develop tolerance and the medication is no longer effective.  There are also known adverse  risks associated with the prolonged utilization of corticosteroids including speeding the loss or damage of cartilage within the knee joint.1,2 “ said Dr. Radfar-Baublitz.

Why are you using the patient’s own fat tissue?

Dr. Radfar-Baublitz states that, “One of the most powerful and restorative tissues in your body is your own fat!  Fat has been used for injury repair since World War I!” 

“Your own fat is easy to collect from the belly or ‘love-handles’  using a minimally invasive procedure and local anesthetic. Studies have shown that the quality of the important reparative cells do not decline with age in comparison to other tissue sources.3,4,5,6 ” Said Dr. Radfar-Baublitz. 

What is Lipogems and is it FDA cleared for use in orthopaedics? 

“Lipogems provides patients a natural, FDA-cleared option that can be performed in our office in about an hour using a simple, minimally invasive procedure.” Said Dr. Radfar-Baublitz. “Lipogems’ uses the patient’s own fat tissue and the patented system processes and resizes the tissue using only saline in minutes. The processed tissue is called Microfragmented Fat™. Since fat is a structural tissue, it provides cushion and support, allowing it to support the healing of the damaged or injured tissue. I like using Lipogems because it is FDA-cleared for use in orthopaedics and is backed with strong scientific evidence.”  

What are the potential benefits of Lipogems if you are not ready for major surgery?

Dr. Radfar says here are my top reasons for using Lipogems:

1. Multiple Injections in the Same Session: “Many patients suffer from multiple orthopaedic issues due to wear and tear or compensating for one issue leads to another issue.  One of the reasons I like using Lipogems is we are able to wash, rinse, and resize your own fat tissue for multiple injection sites during a single session. For example, if you suffer from orthopaedic issues in both knees and one shoulder – one can inject in three different joints, with minimal downtime from the procedure and minimal pain medication.  This is an ideal option for patients that are not ready for surgery or want to avoid the hospital and/or do not qualify for surgery.”
2. Natural, Minimally Invasive Procedure with Minimal Complications/Risk: “The procedure is performed in the office/minor procedure room using your own tissue. Using your own tissue has minimal chance of rejection or infection. There have been over 40,000 Lipogems procedures performed with a low rate of minor complications (1-2%) and no major complications reported.”
3. Strong Scientific Evidence From Leading Institutions: “It is important that the procedures that I offer are supported by strong scientific evidence.  There are over 80+ peer-reviewed publications with 3 year follow-up supporting Lipogems. The scientific and clinical studies were performed at leading institutions such as New York University, Harvard University, Emory University, and others. It is important for me to see that leading physicians around the world are using and offering this technology,  The physicians have a high satisfaction rate for the procedure in  patients that have tried or failed conservative efforts and are not ready for major surgery”
4. Economical and Efficient: “The procedure is economical and the majority of the patients receive one procedure.  In addition, Lipogems is more cost-effective than the costs of major orthopaedic surgery and may be used in multiple sites in the same setting. Major orthopaedic surgery is expensive and the recovery period can be cumbersome and lengthy. There is minimal down time required with the Lipogems procedure.”  

Will someone need major orthopaedic surgery in the future?

“It is important to know that individual results may vary. You may or may not need major orthopaedic surgery in the future. You may or may not choose to have the procedure repeated if desired down the road. However, you may want to try this option if you are still suffering from your orthopaedic issue and/or major orthopaedic surgery has been cancelled or delayed or you are not ready for major surgery.” Said Dr. Radfar-Baublitz

REFERENCES 

1. McAlindon TE et al. Effect of Intra-articular Triamcinolone vs Saline on Knee Cartilage Volume and Pain in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2017 May 16;317(19):1967-1975.
2. Kompel A et al. Intra-articular Corticosteroid Injections in the Hip and Knee: Perhaps Not as Safe as We Thought? Radiology. Dec 2019.
3. https://www.niams.nih.gov/newsroom/spotlight-on-research/long-term-benefit-steroid-injections-knee-osteoarthritis-challenged. Accessed on April 20, 2020. 
4. Beane, O.S., et al. (2014). “Impact of aging on the regenerative properties of bone marrow-, muscle-, and adipose-derived mesenchymal stem/ stromal cells.” PloS one 9.12. e115963. 
5. Stolzing, A., et al. (2008). “Age-related changes in human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells: consequences for cell therapies.” Mechanisms of aging and development 129.3: 163-173. 
6. Kern, S., et al. (2006). “Comparative analysis of mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, or adipose tissue.” Stem cells 24.5: 1294-1301

Disclaimer: 

Individual results vary. Not all patients will have the same post-procedure recovery and activity level. See your physician to discuss your potential benefits and risks.The Lipogems System is a sterile medical device intended for the closed-loop processing of your own fat tissue in medical procedures involving the harvesting, concentrating and transferring of your own fat (adipose) tissue harvested with a legally marketed lipoplasty system. This can be a minimally invasive procedure that’s done in the office, to support soft tissue defects and may promote healing in orthopaedics and arthroscopic surgery. Lipogems may or may not be appropriate for all patients. Like any medical procedure, there is a risk for soreness, redness, swelling, and/or pain. These procedures require needle access (size, location and depth vary depending on the procedure) and this may result in (but not limited to), discomfort, pain, apprehension, bruising, tenderness, bleeding, swelling, or infiltration at the injection site. Other symptoms that may occur include lightheadedness, fainting, nausea, or vomiting. There is a slight risk of infection at the injection site and minimal risk of adverse reactions or complications as with any other injection procedure. Since the fat is from your own body there is little concern of disease transmission, allergic reaction or tissue rejection. For patients with chronic medical conditions such as autoimmune, diabetes, heart or lung disease, circulatory diseases or obesity, extreme caution may be necessary. There are rare but possible risks and complications due to fat transfer including an allergic reaction to the local anesthetic, damage to underlying structures,hematoma or seroma (an accumulation of blood or fluid under the skin that may require removal), changes in sensation, unsatisfactory results that may necessitate additional procedures, permanent discoloration caused by a ruptured blood vessel at the treatment site, calcification, a divet in the area of the tissue harvest, perioperative bleeding, a blood clot at the treatment or donor site, an infection, scar tissue, and a fat embolism caused by a fat injection mistakenly directed into a blood vessel, and death. The information presented is for educational purposes only. Speak to your doctor to decide if Lipogems procedure is appropriate for you. Individual results vary and not all patients will return to the same activity level. The lifetime of any procedure is limited and depends on several factors like patient weight and activity level. Your doctor will counsel you about strategies for your post-procedural care. It is important to closely

follow your physician’s instructions regarding post-procedure activity, treatment and follow-up care. Ask your doctor if Lipogems procedure is right for you. Lipogems or other corporate affiliated entities own, use or have applied for the following trademarks or service marks: Lipogems. All other trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners or holders.