Lipogems Adipose/Fat Therapy
Lipogems Adipose/fat Therapy Services Offered in Houston, TX
Lipogems® adipose/fat therapy is an innovative treatment that harvests and processes your own body fat to repair, reconstruct, and replace injured and damaged tissue. Alain E. Elbaz, MD, PLLC, in Houston, Texas, specializes in regenerative orthopedics and offers Lipogems adipose/fat therapy for patients who no longer get relief from conservative care and aren’t ready for surgery. Call or schedule an appointment online to learn how Lipogems adipose/fat therapy can help you. Telemedicine consultations are available.
Lipogems is unique process that allows us to get healing cells from your own fat using an ingenious patented device. Following a quick a relatively painless harvest the fat is processed to obtain clusters of healing cells. These cells are injected under ultrasound guidance into any tissue or joint that is injured. We are experienced in treating knees with arthritis, meniscus tears and ligament injuries.
Fat contains a high percentage of stem cells which are undifferentiated cells that may regenerate and multiply forming tissue when necessary. Conventional stem cell treatments isolate these stem cells and inject them into areas that require healing or repair. Many stem cells however die in the process due to lack of a supportive environment. LIPOGEMS uses a special device that preserves the fat environment which contains cells such as pericytes and cytokines that support and direct the activity of stem cells. During the process, the adipose tissue is fragmented to release cells and certain residues that promote inflammation are removed. No enzymes are used at all and a sterile saline solution helps minimize damage to the cellular products.
For the procedure, your doctor first selects a site for fat extraction. The area is injected with a mixture of anesthetic and saline. After the area is sufficiently anesthetized, about 50-120 cc of fat is extracted depending on how much is needed. There is no visible change in appearance at the donor site. The fat is then processed in the LIPOGEMS device which takes about 20 minutes. It is then drawn into syringes and injected into areas that require healing and regeneration. The entire procedure takes about 90 minutes.
Advantages of Lipogems:
Multiple joints can be injected on the same day
Fast procedure done in the office without general anesthesia
Minimally painful
Sterile process as the cells are never in contact with air and stay inside the system until they are delivered.
Quick acting - most patients start to improve within 4-6 weeks and the improvement continues for many months
Effective for knee arthritis. In my experience Lipogems is more effective than viscosupplementation or PRP
Lipogems Adipose/Fat Therapy Q&A
What is Lipogems adipose/fat therapy?
Lipogems adipose/fat therapy is an innovative treatment that uses your own body fat to support the healing of injured or damaged body parts.
Your body fat is a versatile tissue that has many functions in the body, including the power to heal. In fact, your fat has more reparative cells than many other tissues in the body. However, sometimes the body is unable to access these cells.
Lipogems is a device that processes your own body fat to remove contaminants, and then washes, rinses, and resizes the fat into smaller clusters. The small clusters of fat, called Lipogems Microfragmented Fat™, is the perfect size for initiating the healing process in the treatment area.
Am I a candidate for Lipogems adipose/fat therapy?
Dr. Elbaz is an experienced orthopedic surgeon and expert in regenerative orthopedics. He determines if you’re a candidate for Lipogems adipose/fat therapy after a consultation.
He may recommend the innovative treatment if you have a musculoskeletal injury or condition and no longer get relief from conservative treatments such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and physical therapy.
You may not be a candidate for Lipogems adipose/fat therapy if you have an infection, an autoimmune disease, or you’re taking blood thinners or anticoagulant medication.
What happens during Lipogems adipose/fat therapy?
Dr. Elbaz customizes your Lipogems adipose/fat therapy treatment so you get the best outcomes. He reviews the details of your therapy at your consultation so you know what to expect.
First, using minimally invasive liposuction tools, he removes a small amount of fat from your abdomen or waist. He places the fat in the Lipogems device for processing. Once your fat is ready, he injects it into the body.
With Lipogems adipose/fat therapy, Dr. Elbaz can treat multiple areas at the same time.
The total procedure time is about an hour.
What happens after Lipogems adipose/fat therapy?
Dr. Elbaz sends you to the recovery area following your Lipogems adipose/fat therapy treatment and then sends you home.
There’s minimal downtime following Lipogems adipose/fat therapy, but Dr. Elbaz recommends you skip strenuous physical activity for a few days following the procedure.
Most people only need one treatment to get results.
To find out more about Lipogems adipose/fat therapy and how it can work for you, call Alain E. Elbaz, MD, PLLC, or book an appointment online today.