Most individuals, once given the choice, would favor a minimally invasive approach with limited down time. If surgery is ultimately required, trying to find some way to optimize recovery is essential.

WHAT IS LIPOGEMS?

It is a device that removes a small volume of your fat from your abdominal area and processes it using a sterile saline solution. Your fat is then micro-fragmented and purified leaving the powerful healing cells.

ARE YOU A CANDIDATE FOR LIPOGEMS INJECTIONS?

The ideal candidates for the Lipogems procedure are individuals who fall in the “treatment gap” between conservative therapies and major surgical intervention.

Such as:

• Daily functioning or physically activity is limited by your injury
• The joints in your knee, ankle or shoulder are painful with limited range of motion
• Soft tissue damage and inflammation in your tendons, ligaments, and/or muscles
• Physical therapy, steroid injections, or NSAIDS have not provided you relief.
• You are an active or busy working professional that is not ready for major, invasive surgery.

Interested individuals should schedule an appointment with Dr O’Hearn and find out if they are a candidate for the procedure. Then an individualized treatment plan can be discussed as far as having the procedure done as a stand-alone treatment in a procedure room or to be included with a surgical treatment.

WHY USE YOUR OWN POWERFUL FAT?

1. Fat is a structural tissue that provides cushion and support to help the healing process.
2. Your own fat is the highest quality tissue from your body
3. FAT has 100-500 times more reparative cells than other similar tissue.
4. Research has shown that as a person ages, their FAT maintains its reparative properties unlike other similar tissue, such as bone marrow, which may lose healing capacity with age.
5. Fat is easily to harvest using a minimally invasive technique
6. Using your own tissue has less likelihood for rejection or infection

HOW DOES IT WORK?

After your body’s fat has been micro-fragmented and purified a small needle is used to inject the microfragmented fat into the treatment site(s).  If you suffer from multiple orthopaedic issues, additional fat can be harvested and injected in those sites in the same setting. The healing cells from your own body maximize your ability to provide cushion and support and help with healing of damaged or injured tissue and optimize recovery.  The procedure is performed using 100% of your own body’s fat cells. There is nothing foreign introduced into the body.

WHEN CAN I EXPECT TO FEEL BETTER?

We have found that some patients report a decrease in their discomfort within the first few days after the procedure, however, most patients will notice reduced pain and/or increased function within the first several weeks. Depending on the type of injury and the extent of the injury, the time frame for experiencing results may differ.

HOW LONG WITH IT LAST?

Due to its fatty property, the healing cells stay within the affected area providing cushion and support and letting your body maximize the benefits of the reparative cells to support the healing process.

As with all procedures, the individual results may vary. Your doctor will counsel you about strategies for your post-procedural care.

Individual results vary. Not all patients will have the same post-procedure recovery and activity level. See your physician to discuss your potential benefits and risks.The Lipogems System is a sterile medical device intended for the closed-loop processing of your own fat tissue in medical procedures involving the harvesting, concentrating and transferring of your own fat (adipose) tissue harvested with a legally marketed lipoplasty system. This can be a minimally invasive procedure that’s done in the office, to support soft tissue defects and may promote healing in orthopaedics and arthroscopic surgery. Lipogems may or may not appropriate for all patients. Like any medical procedure, there is a risk for soreness, redness, swelling, and/or pain. These procedures require needle access (size, location and depth vary depending on the procedure) and this may result in (but not limited to), discomfort, pain, apprehension, bruising, tenderness, bleeding, swelling, or infiltration at the injection site. Other symptoms that may occur include lightheadedness, fainting, nausea, or vomiting. There is slight risk of infection at the injection site and have minimal risk of adverse reactions or complications as with any other injection procedure. Since the fat is from your own body there is little concern of disease transmission, allergic reaction or tissue rejection. For patients with chronic medical conditions such as autoimmune, diabetes, heart or lung disease, circulatory diseases or obesity, extreme caution may be necessary. There are rare but possible risks and complications due to fat transfer including an allergic reaction to the local anesthetic, damage to underlying structures, hematoma or seroma (an accumulation of blood or fluid under the skin that may require removal), changes in sensation, unsatisfactory results that may necessitate additional procedures, permanent discoloration caused by a ruptured blood vessel at the treatment site, calcification, a divet in the area of the tissue harvest, peri-operative bleeding, a blood clot at the treatment or donor site, an infection, scar tissue, and a fat embolism caused by a fat injection mistakenly directed into a blood vessel, and death. The information presented is for educational purposes only. Speak to your doctor to decide if Lipogems procedure is appropriate for you. Individual results vary and not all patients will return to the same activity level. The lifetime of any procedure is limited and depends on several factors like patient weight and activity level. Your doctor will counsel you about strategies for your post-procedural care. It is important to closely follow your physician’s instructions regarding post-procedure activity, treatment and follow-up care. Ask your doctor if Lipogems procedure is right for you.Lipogems or other corporate affiliated entities own, use or have applied for the following trademarks or service marks: Lipogems. All other trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners or holders.