Board-Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery Founder, Ricardo L. Rodriguez MD, Baltimore Plastic Surgeon Medical Director, Cosmetic Surgery Facility, LLC
CosmeticSurg blog: Expert insights from Dr. Ricardo L. Rodriguez
Dr. Ricardo L. Rodriguez, a Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon in Baltimore, Maryland shares his expertise and vast career experiences with various plastic surgery procedures. In his articles Dr. Rodriguez offers trusted guidance on elective surgery, helping you make informed decisions on how to look and feel your best.
Anyone who reads this blog knows that we are passionate about the future of adipose stem cells, the stem cells that are derived from your own fat. Many people know about their ability to enhance fat grafts for Breast reconstruction, but we hear very little in the general media about their ability to cure and treat many diseases. Unless you are a biotech investor hanging out in Cytori message boards, you may not know that many Phase I clinical trials with adipose stem cells have even been completed.
Dr. Ricardo Rodriguez, a Yale trained Plastic Surgeon with 20 years experience, explains why minimally manipulated adult stem cells for autologous usage should not be considered ‘drugs’. There are rumblings that the FDA will classify all adult stem cells as ‘drugs’. Fat cells are a type of adult stem cell. Is your own fat a drug? Read about it in his CosmeticSurg Blog.
(originally published Sept 11, 2011) Unless you are a science major, understanding the topic of stem cells can be daunting. The mainstream media has provided some good articles on the topic of stem cells, but there is a lot of misleading information out there.
Often times mainstream media lumps all stem cells into one category to imply that all therapies are a decade away and that very little clinical data exists. That is simply not categorically true. In an effort to give you a mile high view of the stem cell world, we made a graphic, Stem Cell Types – Debunking Misconceptions.
(Originally published January 11, 2012 ) Several years ago we became fascinated with the potential of adipose stem cells for both cosmetic and medical purposes. However, we soon discovered that nothing in the written FDA guidelines specifically addressed the use of autologous adipose stem cells.
Thus began our journey for an answer. In June 2009, we sent a letter to the FDA asking for a position statement on adipose stem cells. Our request focused specifically on autologous, freshly isolated, adipose stem cells for use in reconstruction. These stem cells are from your own fat, for your own usage, and not culture expanded in a lab. After a very long wait, we recently received a written response from the FDA. First, a little bit of background for any stem cell newbies….
President Obama ordered federal agencies, such as the FDA, to search their books and strike any overburdensome regulations. In June, the FDA quietly posted a request for comments to any existing regulations that are burdensome or outdated by technology. We passed the link on to Professor Mary Chirba who then submitted comments to the FDA regarding autologous stem cell therapies. She has graciously given us permission to post her comments here on our blog.
Most patients are often surprised by the choices and considerations they’re faced with when considering a Breast augmentation.
Looking at your breasts the way a doctor does can be an emotional event full of new information which may be hard to process. However, it is essential that you and your doctor are ‘on the same page’ regarding the type of implant and surgical approach that will be used.
After the initial consultation, I prefer to see all of my patients one more time to be sure that we have answered all of the questions.
I did my first case of micro fat grafting to the face over 20 years ago. It was a patient that had acne scarring in her face. During the decade of the 90’s I had tried laser for that problem, under the theory that you could level the skin.
Frankly the results were OK, not great, because the pits were not filled. Fat grafting was used to fill the pits under the skin. The great surprise was how good the skin looked after the fat injections ! The skin became rosier, softer, and just younger looking.
In summary, Laser resurfacing technologies destroy tissue (which the body repairs), while fat grafting (Fat injections) builds up and regenerates tissues.
Most lasers shoot a high energy beam which vaporizes cells, whereas fat grafting techniques mobilize teams of repair cells to bring more blood supply and nutrients to your face.
I believe that stem cell enhanced fat grafting offers an advantage to lasers currently being used by plastic surgeons and dermatologists. Fat grafts are the most natural way to get a long lasting youthful rejuvenation of your face.
Let’s clarify what lip lift does first. The lip lift shortens the long space between the base of the nose and the upper lip. Some people are born with a longer space, while other people start to notice it more during the aging process.
Here are the considerations to make when planning the procedure, and the steps involved in the procedure.
It’s all about how the eye perceives shapes. When you look at the back of a typical woman what you think is the butt is really a combination of two separate fat pockets:
the buttock itself
the flank, or “back muffin top” above the buttocks
The combination of the two fat volumes creates a visual unit. It is longer than it is wide so the butt appears to be droopy or sagging. From the side it appears there is no shelf but a long slope that makes the buttock look like it is hanging. If you eliminate the back muffin top above the buttock there are a lot of perception changes that result.
Plastic surgeons have been performing Fat grafting surgeries for over a hundred years. Patients interested in having a procedure involving fat grafting should be familiar enough with the process to ask questions during their consultation.
The success of fat grafting is highly dependent on the skill and technique of the surgeon as well as the patient’s attention to detail and instructions during post-op.
Here are 10 questions to arm yourself with prior to a consultation for any plastic surgery involving a fat transfer:
If you’re considering Liposuction to the your love handles, saddlebags, or abdomen, familiarize yourself with the procedure and the options available to your surgeon. Know exactly how your liposuction procedure will be handled before you schedule it. Dr. Rodriguez explains what you need to know.
There are four main factors that can affect your liposuction result. Two of them have to do with the instrument used by your plastic surgeon, and the other two are related to the post op recovery period.
Recently, a patient came to me for a second opinion. She was an attractive, dark skin Hispanic female who had had Liposuction to the saddlebag area along with a tummy tuck and a breast lift. The result was great, but the patient was unhappy. She had a small waist, and a nicely defined hourglass figure. Her hips were curvy. Now why would a patient be unhappy with a ‘good’ result?
