Looking like “Barbie” Without Scalpel?

This year Barbie doll celebrated her 55th birthday. At the beginning of her “career” she was yet a revolution amongst dolls, because Barbie was the first without chubby cheeks and a childlike body. Indeed it went one step further and Barbie developed from a toy played by millions of children to a tall, slim, blue-eyed, blonde, and busty character. Soon Barbie was not only a toy, but also an ideal of beauty for many young women.

Also for the 23 year-old Valeria Lukyanova from Ukraine, whose appearance attracted quite much attention recently, Barbie seems to be an ideal of beauty. She corresponds to her idol nearly entirely. According to her own statement she did it just with the help of strict raw food nutrition and very hard physical work. It is astonishing that artificial beauty surgeries – except of a breast augmentation – shouldn’t have contributed to her transformation to a living Barbie doll. Valeria emphasizes again and again that she has not “touched up”.

Taking a look on a picture of her quickly raises the question: Is it really possible to reach such Barbie-like proportions in a natural way? In her tender age of 23 she is quite young for having undergone such a number of surgeries. Nevertheless, there are persistent opinions on the internet, that say that Valeria didn’t just help at her breasts, but also has had a rip removal, a nose job, a liposuction, and a modification of her eyes.

Valeria Lukyanova insists that her breast augmentation was the one and only exception and that her small waist – compared to her huge décolleté – is a product of nutrition and sports. Well, this may be true! But it could be suspected that Valeria has formed her small waist with the aid of liposculpture or liposuction.

Instead of discarding the obtained fat and putting silicone implants into the breasts, the fat could be used for breast augmentation with stem cells and autologous fat. Valeria could have gotten a bigger breast without scalpel and silicone, because fat is harvested from the body’s fat pads using microcannulas and injected into the breast after stem cell enrichment.

This method is suitable both for women who like to have more volume and for those who like to get back volume they have lost (for example due to breastfeeding). In stem cell breast augmentation general anesthesia is superfluous. Thus the patient is able to return to everyday life rapidly. In the first step fat is obtained by liposuction under local anesthesia, from with stem cells are extracted. Subsequently, the stem cell-enriched fat is injected into the breast.

The treatment just takes a few hours and in contrast to conventional breast augmentations with silicone it normally does not leave scars. Valeria, who emulated her ideal of beauty Barbie already in her childhood by dying her hair blonde, could – if she is planning further procedures without making them public – choose a more gentle method, like the one which is using the body’s own stem cells, whose results are sustainable and natural-looking. The precondition is that there are enough fat pads out of which natural, living filling material for the breasts can be obtained.

In an Interview with frauenzimmer.at the young “Barbie” says: “If you are not beautiful, nobody will listen to you. It’s very important for people that you take care of you and your body, that you are beautiful, and that you have accomplished something.”

Indeed Valeria reached her goal to attract attention for her appearance. However, we will see if anybody is listening to her. This will certainly depend on what she has to tell the world about.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

“Vampire Lifting” – Does It Work?

You may remember my blog Rejuvenation a la Countess Dracula in which I talked about the historical countess Erzsébet Nádasdy (nee Báthory in 1560), who fell in love with a young officer at the mature age of 50, or thereabouts.

She found out by chance that a young girl’s blood that got splattered on her rejuvenated her facial skin, so she soon started taking baths in the blood of murdered girls. She was indeed rejuvenated, began introducing herself to him as her own daughter Ilona, who was held captive by her, and making him fall in love with her. You can read the whole exciting story on my blog.

Today we know that fresh blood contains tissue hormones and growth factors, which really can rejuvenate the skin when these tissue hormones are introduced into the skin with microneedles. For this purpose, PRP (platelet-rich plasma), is obtained, having impressive rejuvenation effects. Some call this treatment “vampire lifting”.

PRP works particularly well when it is combined with autologous stem cells from fat tissue or bioidentical hormones (Hormonal Regeneration®).

Just as in the story about Erzsébet, the treatment has to be repeated regularly to achieve long-lasting results. However, we do not need to use the blood of virgins. Your own blood is good enough.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Does Botox Make Us Look Old? (Part 3)

What to do if one injects botox anyway or has already gotten thin and dry skin because of botox?

Nothing can be done against the mask-like effect caused by the muscle paralysis. It fades over the months when the paralyzing effect of botox subsides.

But we can improve skin quality: Apart from the supply of collagen, hyaluronic acid, and bioidentical hormones, it is essential to treat the skin regularly with tissue hormones to balance the skin aging effect of botox as good as possible.

Tissue hormones (growth factors) are produced by the body’s stem cells and can be found in the blood (platelet-rich plasma, PRP), but they can also be produced in the laboratory. The tissue hormones are injected in the skin using thin micro-needles.

That’s quite a bit of effort, but what wouldn’t one do to be beautiful ;-).

DDr. Heinrich, MD

What to Do in Case of Dents and Irregularities after Liposuction?

Recently a patient consulted me who was treated in Prague with a combination of laser and liposuction. Lots of dents and irregularities resulted from this treatment! Now she wonders if she should undergo a correction in my clinic, which is tedious and expensive, of course, or if she accepts to live permanently dissatisfied with those irregularities.

What was the mistake? The doctor had underestimated the aggressiveness of the combination of liposuction cannula and laser beam. The patient therefore had swellings in the thighs for weeks after liposuction. After about five weeks on the mechanically stressed areas of the thighs deep dents had formed.

What to do? Autologous fat transfer, best with stem cell-enriched autologous fat, is the only solution. Or she lives with her irregularities. For many women, such a decision is not easy. It is always best to get oneself properly informed before booking liposuction.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Does Botox Make Us Look Old? (Part 2)

Wrinkles on the face and body are caused by skin aging and skin aging is by the lack of certain hormones caused to a considerable extent.

If individual endocrine glands weaken, we see certain symptoms in the face. For example, small wrinkles above the upper lip point to a lack of androgens and female sex hormones. Hanging cheeks with deep wrinkles indicate an additional deficiency of growth hormone (HGH).

Wrinkles are therefore better treated with bioidentical hormones than with botox. Once the hormonal deficiencies and imbalances are balanced out, the skin rapidly gains firmness, freshness, and vitality.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Weight Loss before Breast Augmentation with Stem Cells or Autologous Fat

Recently we performed a breast augmentation with stem cells in a patient who had lost 7 kilos in the months before surgery.

Previously you would have advised against losing weight before liposuction because weight loss causes the fat cells (and tissues) to be empty and limp, something which makes the sculpturing during the liposuction more difficult, even if microcannulas are used.

Today we know that a certain amount of weight loss prior to autologous fat transfer (lipotransfer) has its advantages: The oil content of the fat is significantly lower, which reduces the work necessary to purify the fat. Properly purified autologous fat is important for stem cell breast augmentation.

The patient is very satisfied with her breasts now, by the way.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Does Botox Make Us Look Old? (Part 1)

Botox helps against wrinkles, but it makes the skin thin and dry. What to do?

We all know women whose faces are wrinkle-free, but who still look old and like a mask. This is often the result of botox. Botox (botulinum toxin) is effective against wrinkles because it paralyzes is the muscles responsible for facial expression which fold the skin.

However, botox also causes the regression of the glands of the skin, leaving the skin dryer and thinner. This effect can be used successfully for the treatment of excessive sweating.

Does it make sense to fight wrinkles with botox if it makes us look older?

Not really. Nevertheless, botox has been a best-seller in aesthetic surgery for more than 10 years. Repeat injections are required as the effect of botox subsides within a few months.

I recommend refraining from botox. It’s better to improve the quality of the skin to prevent the formation of wrinkles.

To do so, we can supply our body with the substances the skin needs for its stability, such as collagen and hyaluronic acid, through nutrition. Skin aging is also a symptom of deficiencies of certain hormones and therefore can be treated with bioidentical hormones.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Why Do so Many People Worldwide Suffer from Overweight?

Obesity is one of the main health problems of our Western world. The number of overweight people increases rapidly: About one in five Austrians is considered obese. But why are so many people overweight worldwide, with all the known consequences such as diabetes, heart attack, and osteoarthritis?

It’s simple: They eat too many carbohydrates (sweets, breads, cereals, potatoes, rice, pasta, etc.)! Everyone has – due to different activity of the endocrine glands and the digestive enzymes – an individual metabolism and can withstand different amounts of it, but most people already get overweight when eating relatively small amounts of carbohydrates.

Therefore any major weight loss requires, besides a check of the endocrine glands, a change in diet with significant reduction of starchy or even sugary food!

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Is Brad Pitt Turning Back Time? – Looking like 40 at the Age of 50

If you would have to guess Brad Pitt’s age, you would probably say he’s in his early forties – and that only because you maybe know him from the old TV series Dallas, in which he is playing the minor part of the young Randy. So isn’t it very surprising to hear that William Bradley Pitt alias “Brad Pitt” was celebrating his 50th birthday on December, 18? According to US Weekly Brad Pitt waives a pompous party to celebrate in Australia within the family circle instead.

Brad Pitt was born in Oklahoma in 1963. Two weeks before completing his studies he dropped out of college to move to Los Angeles where he wanted to realize his dream of becoming an actor. All beginning is difficult, and so Brad had to be content with his job as a chauffeur. Nevertheless, he firmly believed in his dream and after some time first roles came, which guided him to big productions like Troy or The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and made him world-famous.

Today the famous actor is liaised with one of Hollywood’s most beautiful-made women, Angelina Jolie, and is brimming over with youthfulness and sensuality. After all I don’t really understand the reason why Brad Pitt has been selected as the face of the famous perfume Chanel N°5 – a fragrance for rather mature, ample women. Maybe because he’s simply an ageless heartthrob. Anyway, the charismatic actor airs his face with characteristic designer stubble, bright eyes, and a few scattered wrinkles masterfully on the Chanel N°5 posters.

Although stars like Brad Pitt are investing much time and money in personal styling they are not immune from the passage of time. With increasing age and stress hormonal capacity is getting weaker, which can have physical effects like burnout, less power and endurance, but also external effects. A lean face is mostly a manifestation of a weak hormonal system of the adrenal cortex (cortisol, DHEA). Loose tissue often traces back to a lack of growth hormones (Human Growth Hormone, HGH) and wrinkles can be symptoms of a deficiency of sexual hormones (testosterone, progesterone, estrogen).

Bioidentical hormones have the same structure as our natural human hormones and are thus proper for compensation of age-related and stress-related hormonal imbalances. That makes them to an elixir which provides more vitality and attractiveness – also beyond the age of fifty. Thus it’s no surprise that many Hollywood stars are making use of them and taking advantages of bioidentical hormones.

At the beginning of each treatment with bioidentical hormones a comprehensive analysis of the health status is performed. On this basis an individual therapy program is created. After a short time the skin gains more vitality and tightness. Hormonal balance can also show positive effects in general health, physical fitness, and resilience. Hormonal Regeneration® cures take between 3 and 6 cycles (1 cycle = 28 days) and can be repeated if desired.

The effect of Hormonal Regeneration® can be enhanced by a combination with local rejuvenation treatments in facial and body areas: Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and growth factors (Epidermal Growth Factors) get injected into the skin with the help of fine micro-needle derma roller, where they can show their regenerative effect. Stem cells isolated from the body’s own fat have the biggest regenerative potential. Furthermore, food supplements like Perfect Skin could supply our skin with essential amino acids and peptides, which the body needs to maintain a healthy and juvenile skin structure.

Now what’s the secret behind Brad Pitt’s ageless appearance – does he already “cheat” with bioidentical hormones and stem cells?

Anyway, we don’t hope that his real life corresponds to the ability of Benjamin Button to become younger instead of getting older. Otherwise Brad won’t plug the famous fragrance Chanel N°5, but is rather going to appear in the next Bebe or even Pampers advert.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Hair Loss Prevention with Stem Cells?

Regularly younger men come into my office who do not want to look like their fathers at 40 – with a (semi-)bald head. To prevent hair loss they have their scalp treated with stem cells.

For this purpose, a small portion of the patient’s fat is extracted first under local anesthesia, from which the stem cells are isolated. Subsequently, the obtained autologous stem cells are injected into the scalp.

Does that help? Well, we know that stem cell treatments work well for thinning hair and incipient baldness. The stem cells cause new hair growth and the hair gets more dense. Therefore, stem cells work even better as a preventive measure.

Unfortunately encouraging results for patients with a fully bald head do not exist. Obviously active hair follicles are required so the stem cells can act. In case of complete baldness the scalp does not contain hair follicles.

Just one more reason to prevent hair loss in time.

DDr. Heinrich, MD