Saggy Breasts after Breastfeeding: Treatment with Autologous Fat and Stem Cells

A patient writes us by e-mail:

I would be interested in stem cell treatment (autologous fat transfer to the breast). In April 2014 my daughter was born and after breastfeeding my breasts are obviously tinier and more saggy, from which I suffer a lot.

A breast augmentation with autologous fat or stem cell-enriched autologous fat is especially suitable for treatment of breasts which got saggy after breastfeeding and offer enough space for the implanted autologous fat due to loss of volume. Owing to the additional volume and the rejuvenating effect of the body’s own stem cells the breast treated with autologous fat seems fuller and tighter.

By obtaining fat using liposuction annoying fat pads which developed during pregnancy can be reduced if desired.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Too Thin for Fat Transfer to the Breast?

A patient asks by e-mail about breast enlargement with fat transfer:

I asked few doctors in France, but most of them tell me that I don’t have enough fat. And I will have to do implants and fat transfer to have 32C. But I don’t want to use implant.

If harvesting fat is done by usual liposuction, many patients will not qualify, as the usual liposuction cannulas require thick fat deposits. In thin patients fat harvesting has got to be performed with very thin microcannulas and then in most patients enough fat is prevalent to perform fat transfer to the breast.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Fat Transfer to Improve Buttocks

A patient asks by e-mail:

I would like to come to Vienna to a consultation regarding buttocks improvement. Furthermore I have some dents at my back from previous treatments.

Improvement of the buttocks can be done by making the buttocks bigger or smaller or by correction of the buttocks’ shape.

To make the buttocks bigger, usually fat is harvested by liposuction on the hips and then transferred to the buttocks (lipofilling). The fat can be stem cell-enriched or plain, depending on patient’s request.

To make the buttocks smaller, usually fat deposits are reduced by liposuction on the buttocks. It is important that the buttocks are not overtreated as flat buttocks are not looking nice.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Elle Macpherson Wishes for More Naturalness on Her 51th Birthday

The Australian ex-supermodel Elle Macpherson recently celebrated her 51th birthday. The beginning of her career already dates back more than 30 years. When the 18-year-old law student was discovered during her vacation she gave up university to become a model. What is only a short (sometimes excessive and stressful) period in the life of some young women who also live for the same dream made Elle become a world star. Within a very short time she ran the catwalk beside the most world-famous supermodels. A few years after her breakthrough she founded her own model agency Elle Macpherson Inc.

Her nickname “The Body” still applies to the 51-year-old today, whose defined body is yet free from orange peel skin. Even her face seems to be wrinkle-free. It’s hardly surprising that speculations about how she is managing this have been rife in many places. According to her own statement the secret of her eternal youth especially is inner balance, daily sports, frequent detoxification, consumption of lots of vegetables, but also good genes.

Unfortunately not everybody has good genes, thus it is generally important to take heed of the right nutrition and sufficient activity. Fish, meat, fruits, and vegetables are among the main food. The supply of starch and sugar should be sharply reduced, because as you know as reader of my blog these carbohydrates are suspected to not only make us gain weight but also old by “sticking together” our cells and tissue with sugar.

In contrast to many of her colleagues Elle wants to avoid scalpel and silicone. She even swears that her 75D-cup breasts are all natural. However, recently the beautiful Australian had to make a confession, because as Spiegel reported, Elle had cheated with botox: “It really worked well at me. I tried out a little bit of everything. That is as natural as you can be.”

But in this case Elle is wrong! Botox is a neurotoxin that is foreign to the body and paralyzes the mimic musculature. This paralysis often causes a rigid, doll-like countenance, as we already know from stars like Nicole Kidman and Renée Zellweger. The skin becomes thin and dry rapidly and looks old after repeated use because botox also causes degeneration of skin glands.

But what would actually be “as natural as you can be”? Certainly regeneration of skin and body with the help of those substances which are already responsible for a young, healthy, and vital appearance in younger people: The body’s own stem cells, growth factors, and platelet-rich plasma (PRP), bioidentical hormones and essential main components of our skin such as collagen and hyaluronic acid.

Autologous stem cells are also available in fat tissue of adults, even in great quantities. They can be isolated from a small amount of fat which is harvested by means of liposuction with microcannulas. Stem cells are injected into the skin of facial or body areas immediately after extraction. Stem cells have a local regenerating effect and improve the skin quality. The regenerating effect of a stem cell treatment can be imitated to a certain degree with a mesotherapy with growth factors of skin cells or PRP extracted from the patient’s own blood.

A combination with a therapy with bioidentical hormones (Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy, BHRT) is possible. Bioidentical hormones have the same chemical structure as our human hormones. In the context of a therapy the hormonal balance is restored in order to get rid of external signs of hormone deficiencies such as premature aging of skin and tissue, dark circles around the eyes, puffy or sunken cheeks, and to increase well-being in general. In addition we would advise Elle to supply her body with hyaluronic acid and collagen, for instance in the form of Perfect Skin by DDr. Heinrich® Beauty Drink or Powder.

With the help of autologous and natural substances Elle could radiate a fresh and vital appearance even on her 60th birthday and further satisfy her nickname “The Body” – and also spare herself embarrassing botox confessions once and for all.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Adrenal Glands and Facial Treatments with Stem Cells and Bioidenticals

A patient requested:

Please send information about adrenal gland supplementation, as well as facial supplementation, cheeks, folds, around mouth, and forehead creases.

Insufficiency of the adrenal glands can be treated by Hormonal Regeneration with bioidentical hormones (BHRT) and using the body’s own stem cells from fat tissue. In addition, Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy tailored to the patient’s individual needs combined with facial treatment with stem cells suspension will support skin regeneration and thus make creases disappear.

We recommended her to mail us photos of the regions in question so we can make adequate and more detailed treatment proposals for her case. As the patient is living overseas we also recommended an online advance informative appointment with webcam by Skype before actually travelling to Vienna for the initial consultation/treatments.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Correction of Breast Asymmetry with Fat Transfer

A patient with breast asymmetry wants to know:

I read about your method of breast augmentation with stem cells. Is it also possible to change the shape or to better a certain inequality with that method?

That is possible; depending on severity of the unevenness it could be necessary to do pre-treatments, for example a pre-stretching with the help of a mechanic suction bra or to do the procedure more than once to achieve the desired effect.

As soon as the breast provides enough space for extra volume breast correction with autologous fat and stem cells can be performed. The needed fat gets obtained by a gentle liposuction with microcannulas. Afterwards the fat gets injected – as desired by the patient –injected into the relevant breast areas to adjust their form either untreated or after stem cell enrichment.

The difference to surgical corrections with silicone implants is that the result of fat transfer both looks and feels natural because no artificial fillers and scalpel are used. The procedure does not leave any unwanted scars on the patient’s skin. Due to the gentle approach general anesthesia is superfluous and the patient does not need to stay in the hospital.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Stem Cell Breast Augmentation in Addition to Existing Silicone Implants

A patient wants to know about breast augmentation with the body’s own fat and stem cells:

I have got implants, but I want to get bigger breasts with autologous fat because I have got few to no breast tissue.

If silicone implants are palpable or if you can even see contours through the skin, autologous fat transfer is suitable to achieve a filling or rounding of the breast form without the need to remove the breast implants.

Autologous fat and stem cells also allow – if requested by the patient – a breast reconstruction after implant removal. The result of this procedure looks natural and also feels “real” because it consists entirely of body’s own tissue.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Diabetes, Overweight, Lipedema, Polyneuropathy

A patient mails us:

I suffer from persistent overweight and painful lipedema with skin lesions on both legs. I have type 2 diabetes since 2011, which occurred just after the knee joint prosthesis surgery that was followed by a wound healing disorder. In addition, I suffer from untreated polyneuropathy.

Her basic problems seem to be diabetes and obesity, both would suggest losing weight. For weight loss restoring the hormonal balance with bioidentical hormones (Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy, BHRT) after a complete analysis of the hormonal status would be useful. The polyneuropathy is a consequence of diabetes and can usually be improved by treatment with alpha lipoic acid. For the treatment of lipedema a liposuction is suitable. A therapy with autologous stem cells from adipose tissue would possibly make sense too.

Planning of the individual therapy requires a medical examination as part of a consultation appointment, comprehensive anamnesis and additional medical tests.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Waiting Time before Aesthetic Surgery

A patient who is interested in aesthetic surgery asks this:

Most likely if I were to do the surgery I don’t think I can spend 14 days in Vienna for work reasons.

Since 2013 a new law forces patients who want to undergo aesthetic surgery in Austria to observe a waiting period of 14 days before being able to consent into surgery. Surgery is then possible one day after this consent and written confirmation the earliest.

As this regulation may not be in the best interest of each patient, patients who do not want a waiting period can request to have their aesthetic surgery performed in other countries where other laws rule.

This waiting period does not apply in therapeutically indicated surgery and for non-surgical aesthetic treatments.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Liposuction and Breast Augmentation: “Cosmetic Surgery” or Therapeutic Procedure?

A liposuction or a breast augmentation is regarded as therapeutic procedure if the patient’s physical or mental problems are treated. These procedures are classified as “cosmetic surgery” if they just serve as alteration of the body’s contours. This gets clarified as part of the anamnesis together with the patient during the consultation appointment.

As general practitioner for DDr. Heinrich there is always the whole person to the fore, not only his or her “problem zone”. Meanwhile we rarely do mere body modifications, because our main focus is – taking highest ethical standards as a basis – on improving the patient’s life quality by treating physical or mental problems through gentle procedures.

Thus DDr. Heinrich is very reserved regarding body modifications with no therapeutic goal. The variety of the human appearance, also or especially when it doesn’t correspond to the current ideal of beauty, makes the world colorful and interesting and should by no means make way for a certain optimized “standard body”. For that reason by this time patients we treat nearly always pursue a therapeutic purpose, even if they do a liposuction or a breast augmentation. Of course it is our ambition to fulfill the highest aesthetic standards in all of our procedures.