Breakthrough in cosmetic surgery “Stem Cell Lift®”, by Dr. Nathan Newman

On a bright and beautiful day in Beverly Hills, I came to interview the world renowned cosmetic surgeon, Dr. Nathan Newman, the innovator of the Stem Cell Lift®.  When I entered his beautiful, classy and welcoming office I was greeted by his professional staff with a warm smile.  As I sat in the reception area, I met a few of Dr. Newman’s patients whom all reaffirmed the praises that I had heard about him before coming to visit him today.  They spoke of him with gratitude and appreciation for his professionalism, broad knowledge, artistic talent, ethics and great bedside manner.  Coming from a family of physicians, Dr. Newman continued in their footsteps by attending Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, one of the top ranking medical schools in America.  He then completed his internship in Internal Medicine at the UCLA-VA Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he began his life-long journey of studying and researching the function of fat cells in the body.  He continued his medical training in Dermatology at the esteemed Cook County Hospital in Chicago and completed his training with prestigious Cosmetic Surgery Fellowship through the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery in Riverside California where he could integrate his love for art and medicine.   

“It was a natural thing for me to want to become a doctor as it is a family tradition; my brother, father, and grandfather were doctors.  As a child, I loved to visit my father at his clinic and I wanted to be like him—a caring and compassionate doctor.”

“I established my cosmetic surgery clinic in Beverly Hills 11 years ago and about seven years ago through experimentations and research I started to develop a process that separates stem cells from your own fat cells for use in cosmetic, reconstructive and regenerative treatments.” This discovery was the foundation for the Stem Cell Lift®.

MK: What is the Stem Cell Lift® procedure?

Dr. Newman: Today we have the ability to utilize your own stem cells that are the genetically programmed reparative and regenerative cells found in all tissues in our bodies for cosmetic or reconstructive treatments.  The most easily accessible and most concentrated amount of stem cells are found in your own body’s fat.  There are three steps in a Stem Cell Lift® procedure.  First, my patients choose the area of unwanted fat on their body that they wish fat to be removed from. Then, local tumescent anesthesia is injected to numb the area that the fat is to be removed. Next, a modified mini-liposuction technique that preserves the viability of the cells is used using special instruments to harvest the fat. Second, the removed fat is processed using special techniques to concentrate and activate the stem cells being prepared for injection. Third, the face or any other body being treated is anesthetized using local anesthesia and the super charged stem cell enhanced fat is injected into the desired areas using specially designed instruments to sculpt and contour to the desired shape. The entire procedure takes less than four hours to complete and is done usually under local anesthesia.
 
MK: How popular is this procedure?

Dr. Newman: It is increasing in popularity as more people become educated about the advantages of the Stem Cell Lift® procedure.  This procedure allows you to recycle your fat to improve your appearance and health in a safe, affordable, scar free, allergy free, stitch free manner, and is the best option for those patients who desire natural looking results.

MK: Can you tell me what is the difference between the results patients receive from the old method of face-lift compared to the new one, your Stem Cell Lift®?

Dr. Newman: The Stem Cell Lift® is a product of medical technological and technical advancements in combination with updated and new understanding of aging and its effect on the tissues in our bodies.  Volume loss has been proven to be a major factor in facial aging.  This three-dimensional concept is a major shift away from the two-dimensional approach of cutting and pulling.  Tighter does not mean younger.  In fact, removing fat from the face and eyes can make one look older.  It is the restoration of the volume that has been lost over time and the re-establishment of desirable youthful proportions that gives a natural looking rejuvenated, rested and healthy appearance.  Additionally, as with most technological advancements my procedure avoids many of he risks and complications associated with traditional facelift methods.

MK: Can you combine this with other procedures?

MK: Does every fat tissue contain stem cells?

Dr. Newman: Yes.  Fat is part of our skin, the largest organ of the body.  Fat has been found to contain the most concentrated number of adult stem cells of any tissue in the body.

MK: Is there a possibility that stem cells can convert and become different cells?

Dr. Newman: Yes. Stem cells found in the fat tissue are genetically programmed to repair and regenerate certain types of tissues.  Fat derived stem cells can differentiate to become fat, muscle, bone, cartilage, and nerve insulating coverings, therefore they are ideal for cosmetic and reconstructive treatments for the face, body and joints due to their inherent ability to repair, restore and maintain these tissues in our bodies.  It is believed that these stem cells tend to remain dormant in a hibernating state until it is stimulated and activated by signals from its surrounding cellular environment to repair or replace nearby cells.

MK: What is the difference between fat stem cells and embryonic stem cells?

Dr. Newman: The safest and most ethical treatments available today are from adult tissue stem cells.  Embryonic stem cells are very different than adult stem cells.  Embryonic stem cells have the ability to develop to any and all tissue, while adult stem cells are more specialized and can become only specific types of cells. For example stem cells found in the blood and bone marrow are called hematopoietic stem cells since they will differentiate to different types of blood cells while adipose derived stem cells (ADSC) are capable of developing into fat, muscle, bone, cartilage and nerve sheath. 

The stem cells found in fat tissues are the most concentrated and the easiest to retrieve. The hematopoietic stem cells turn into blood products such as red blood cells and white blood cells, but they cannot turn into other tissues, like muscles. Unlike the hematopoietic stem cells, the stem cells in the fat tissues can become muscles, cartilage, bones, etc.

MK: How is your procedure different from other doctors’ procedures?

Dr. Newman: Stem cell therapy using adipose derived stem cells is about 10 years old. Over the past 7 years I have modified and improved my technique and approach to stem cell therapy as I and a handful of other physicians around the globe gained experience and developed better technologies.  In the scar free Stem Cell Lift® procedure I concentrate and activate the stem cells taken from the fat, then inject the supercharged enhanced stem cells into the areas that need to be treated or sculpted.  All of the procedure is done on the same day in the clinic with local anesthetic so the patients are able to walk out of the clinic and resume their daily lives with minimal recovery time.

MK: Do you know in advance how much fat you need?

Dr. Newman: Based upon my experience and on the patients desired goals, I determine the extent of the procedure that will be needed to achieve the best results.  Therefore, I can estimate the quantity of fat and stem cells that will be needed for each person..

MK: What is more rewarding, aesthetics or medical procedures?

Dr. Newman:  My passion in medicine is helping and healing people and through education empowering them to make the right decisions for themselves.  Of course I am a guide and facilitator when it comes to the technical and aesthetic matters in the art of medicine.  Helping improve my patients’ lives physically, emotionally and psychologically is very rewarding.  I love to see my patients’ smiles and increased self confidence, be it from the positive results of aesthetic or medical procedures.

MK: What other parts of the body can be treated?

Dr. Newman: The old adage ‘you can tell a woman’s age by looking at their hands is no longer true because, in addition to the face, the Stem Cell Lift® procedure is used to rejuvenate the hands, enhance the shape of your breasts, buttocks, calves, the external genitalia and tighten the vaginal canal all without a single stitch or visible scar

MK: What do you treat with stem cells that are not just cosmetic?

I have used the stem cells to treat defects left from previous surgical procedures, radiation burns, open sores and non-healing ulcers on the face and body.  Although, stem cells are not a cure-all they are changing the way we practice medicine and perform surgeries.

MK: What can the stem cells do for muscles or joints?

I have also used the stem cells to treat joints, muscles and tendons to repair and restore functionality and alleviate pain.  For example we are treating and studying the results of the Stem Cell Lift® procedure on patients, who are often on the verge of a knee replacement.  The use of stem cells helps to reduce the pain, discomfort, stiffness and other joint symptoms with a simple joint injection.  Most patients report marked improvement of symptoms and have avoided the risks, costs, pain, down-time, and long recovery associated with joint replacements, chronic pain medications, or serial joint injections that may give temporary relief.  Although there is no long-term data available for this new treatment options, initial clinical results are very promising.

MK: Do you worry that method be copied by other doctors?

Dr. Newman: On contrary, I like to teach other doctors my system. My purpose is to help patients all over the world. My aim is to continuously improve the technique and proliferate it among other doctors. I want to help prevent people from having to go through complicated surgeries and improve the outcome and recovery time. In cosmetic surgery not only is there a lot of pain involved, but also a lot of complications and may be prohibitively costly. A facelift consisting of separate procedures for the forehead, eyebrows, upper eyes, lower eyes, cheeks, nose, lips, laugh lines chin, jowls, and jaw line would cost between thirty to sixty thousand dollars using the old method, and less than a third of the price using the Stem Cell Lift®—no cutting, no scars, no general anesthesia, minimal pain, or minimal risk—and all with the most natural appearing final outcome. If we teach the general public that the option to rejuvenate and repair damaged areas of their body using stem cells is available, they will demand it from their doctors, and the doctors will consecutively learn about it and perform it. The old system will be updated from a 2-D pull to a 3-D lift and restoration.

MK: Do you also have products derived from the stem cell technology?

Dr. Newman: We also produce a serum that is a derivative of human adipose stem cell production, it’s called Luminesce. It contains proteins and growth factors that can be applied to the skin externally. We took the reparative and rejuvenative language that the stem cells produce in the lab and put it into the serum.  It is all natural and hypoallergenic. 

MK: Can you combine this with liposuction?

Dr. Newman: Yes.  It is a procedure that is commonly combined as most of the work to retrieve the fat and the stem cells found within it is similar to liposuction.  It is ideal as you can remove the fat from where you don’t want on your body and inject them into another part of the face or body which you desire to enhance and rejuvenate.

Dr. Newman: Yes.  One can combine the Stem Cell Lift® procedure with lasers, chemical peels, modified face lifts, and Botox®, to treat skin laxity, wrinkles, sun damage and discoloration.

Dr. Nathan Newman’s mission and passion is to continue to innovate and advance the science of stem cell therapy through research, teaching doctors and educating the public for the benefit of patients. He believes that using your own body’s natural healing and restoring ability found in these stem cells can result in more natural, less complicated, safer and more affordable treatments for cosmetic rejuvenation of the face and body, reconstructive restoration of wounds and defects, and even for joint and musculoskeletal conditions.

Go to the links to both Dr Newman’s websites:
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