Please read a selection of answers to our most frequently asked questions.
We hope you find our answers helpful. Please do call us with with any queries that you may have, we are always happy to answer further questions over the telephone 0330 2233332 or email bookings@theregenerativeclinic.co.uk.
About Lipogems® and the Regenerative Woman Clinic
The Lipogems procedure and technique has been available worldwide for approximately 7 years, primarily in orthopaedics and aesthetics. In the UK, it was first started by The Regenerative Clinic 18 months ago. The Regenerative Woman Clinic is the sister company of The Regenerative Clinic and was founded in September 2017.
The Lipogems® procedure
The cells that we’re interested in collecting are called pericytes (Mesenchymal cells) as these cells have naturally regenerative properties, there’s a very high concentration of these cells in your fat tissue, what we call adipose tissue.
Quite simply what we do in the Lipogems® procedure is we remove a small amount of your fat tissue from your tummy. We then put this tissue in a closed loop system and wash it with a saline fluid to get rid of any of the impurities and then re-inject the tissue into the genitourinary area.
The pericytes then stimulate healthy cell growth and repair. The cells encourage the nourishment and hydration of the cells of the vaginal mucosa, alleviating symptoms such as dryness, soreness, burning and discomfort during intercourse. The procedure itself is performed in just under one hour and you are free to leave the clinic the very same day.
The injecting phase of the procedure is tailored specifically to each patient. The exact quantity and location of the injections is determined by your gynaecologist and is dependent on your condition. The majority of the injections are concentrated around the vulva but can also be internal inside the vagina and externally towards the rectum. In total an average of 15-30ml of Lipogems will be injected which will take around 30 minutes.
It is a very small amount of fat, around 100ml. This is then reduced to about 15-30ml which is injected in the genitourinary area.
The Lipogems treatment is a natural solution relying on the bodies own capacity to heal itself. There are no hormones, oestrogen or synthetic chemicals involved in the treatment meaning the treatment is also suitable for post cancer patients. It is designed to be a single treatment and the healing effects have been clinically proven to last for 3 + years.
The harvesting of stem cells from bone marrow is an invasive treatment, conducted under general anesthetic that can be very painful. The mesenchmyal cells present in the fat tissue are easier and less painful to access. There is also research to show that the quality of stem cells in bone marrow decreases significantly as you get older, especially in women. Age and gender has no effect on the quality of stem cells present in fat tissue. Both methods of harvesting have been tried, tested and have proven to be very affective.
The Lipogems® consultation
The outcome and aftercare of Lipogems® for woman
The initial benefits of the treatment can be experienced in as little as 4-6 weeks and definitive changes will be felt after 3 months. At 6 months patients are likely to feel the peak benefit and cases have reported benefits for up to 5 years post treatment.
There are no reports of conditions worsening as a result of the treatment. For non-responders, Lipogems also does not impact the effectiveness or eligibility for future treatments.
All patients are offered 4 follow-up appointments with their gynaecologist as part of their Lipogems package. Patient progress will be monitored closely in these appointments and for non-responders they can discuss on on-going alternative treatment plan with you. All non-responder cases are reviewed by The Regenerative Woman MDT team.
Everybody responds to General Anaesthetic differently; however you should be OK to return to work 2 days post procedure. Most of our theatre dates are on a Friday which gives you the weekend to recover.