Tummy Tuck

Are sit-ups not giving you the flat stomach you want? If you've got too much excess skin in your abdomen that is not responding to diet or exercise, you may need to start considering  a tummy tuck, or what doctors call abdominoplasty.

A Tummy tuck is a surgical procedure that helps flatten and shape the abdomen and waist by removing excess fat and skin and then tightening the underlying muscles. This procedure it's not the same as liposuction (the cosmetic surgery that is used to remove fat deposits). A tummy tuck is very useful for women who have stretched abdominal skin and muscles as a result of pregnancy. It is also a great option for men and women who were once obese and lost a lot of weight. As a result, they may have excess fat deposits or loose skin around the belly. To be a candidate for the tummy tuck procedure, you should be in good physical condition, following a healthy diet, and exercise regularly.

If you're a somebody who plans to get pregnant, the best thing to do is postpone the tummy tuck until you're done having children. During surgery, your vertical muscles are tightened, and future pregnancies can separate those muscles. If you are planning on losing a lot of weight, a tummy tuck is also not a great solution for you. This procedure should be a last resort after you've tried everything else. It should not be used as an alternative to weight loss.

The recommendation is that you wait until after any planned pregnancies and have reached your goal weight before undergoing tummy tuck surgery. This is because further pregnancies or weight loss can undo the results of your tummy tuck by stretching the skin. Another recommendation is that your BMI (Body Mass Index) should be less than 30 to decrease your risk of complications.

During your initial consultation, you should will your cosmetic goals in detail, so the surgeon can tailor your tummy tuck operation accordingly.

Prior to the surgery if you smoke, you will have to stop for a certain period as determined by your doctor. It is not enough just to cut down on smoking; you must stop completely for at least two weeks before the surgery and for two weeks after the procedure. Smoking can increase the risk of complications and delay healing.

The surgery takes approximately 2 to 3 hours under general anesthesia which will put you to sleep during the whole procedure. It is important to have someone who can drive you home once the operation is over and at least during the first night you will need somebody to stay with you. The surgeon will make an incision from hip to hip, and then cut out all the skin between your belly button and pubis. During your tummy tuck, there will be a separation of the skin from the rectus muscles, and then the surgeon will pull and stitch the muscle together, for a firmer abdomen and a narrower waist. After that the surgeon will stretch the skin flap down and over the newly tightened muscles, cut out the extra skin, and reconnect the belly button. There will usually be a couple drains in place to drain any extra fluid once the procedure is done.

Full recovery from a tummy tuck operation usually takes a period of four to six weeks, although you may be able to return to your daily activities in as little as two weeks.  After the procedure is useful if the patients walk for 10 to 15 minutes every 2 hours after the procedure.

Life after the surgery should be really good. With a good diet and being active by regularly exercising, results from your tummy tuck should be long-lasting. While the full tummy tuck will naturally leave a hip-to-hip scar across the lower abdomen, you can always talk about scar placement and length with the doctor before the surgery.

Post-operative complications from any surgery are possible. This may include infection, blood clots, and poor healing which may require further surgery. You can minimize these risks by choosing an experienced surgeon such as Dr. Koneru in San Antonio, who can handle any complications and will give you the attention you need.

If you have had previous abdominal surgery, your old scars could be moved, stretched, or generally more noticeable after the procedure. However, if your scar is below the belly button, it will probably be removed during the tummy tuck operation.

If what you are looking for is just the removal of skin excess and fat, a mini tummy tuck is a good choice for patients. The mini tummy tuck is similar to the full surgical procedure, except that it uses a shorter incision, usually only about 15 cm in length (which is similar to a C-section scar). With this short scar, much less skin can be removed, and the skin is only lifted to the belly button. The mini tummy tuck usually doesn’t remove many stretch marks and can’t correct muscles that have become separated above the belly button. 

The Established Benefits of Stem Cell Transplants

The human body is made of billions of specialized cells that form specific parts of the body like muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, and bones. Each day, as older cells die, new cells are born from stem cells, which possess the unique capability to create multiple types of other cells. However, when tissues are injured the structures become weaker, resulting in pain and decreased function. One of the ways to help your body to regenerate these cells and stop the pain is through a stem cell transplant.

The stem cell transplants treat joint pain, joint and tendon degeneration, and soft tissue injury. Stem cells are a unique type of cell in the body that can expand in number (self-renewal) without becoming a tissue cell. In addition to that, they can also differentiate into various cells found in mature tissue, like cartilage or tendons. Stem cells are vital to maintaining tissues in the body. Otherwise, our bodies would wear down with every step, until we fell apart.

Although many people may think of a transplant as a way of replacing a diseased organ with another one, cells can also be transplanted. Stem cells have an important, often lifesaving use for treating disease. A stem cell transplant doesn't involve surgery in the same sense as an organ transplant would. The injections are significantly less invasive and the procedure is simple by comparison. Its benefit, however, can be enormous.

Through regenerative medicine, a person can take advantage of their body’s ability to heal itself by using their own adult stem cells, which are found throughout the body. The stem cell transplant is a procedure that is commonly used on the hips, knee, shoulder, elbow, the back and spine.

The procedure consists of extracting healthy stem cells from your bone marrow and injecting them into your body to replace damaged cells. To extract the cells from the bone marrow, patients lay face down as the doctor thoroughly cleans the area before numbing the skin and bone. Later on, a special needle is inserted into the bone to withdraw marrow blood, which contains the stem cells. This procedure is not like a bone marrow biopsy. This harvesting procedure is well tolerated by patients and many feel it is not painful. Once the stem cells are injected back into the body, the healthy replacement stem cells will integrate and give rise to more cells that can all take on the necessary functions for a specific tissue.

One of the advantages of adult stem cell transplants over other types of transplants is that the patient functions as his or her own donor. There is no need to find another matching donor, which eliminates the risk of incompatibility and helps avoid long waiting lists. Autologous transplants, when cells taken from a patient and returned to that patient, are relatively safe procedures. There are low rates of complications and infections compared with allogeneic transplants, where cells are taken from a donor and often are manipulated before they are given to a patient. In many instances, much of the procedure can be done on an outpatient basis and the mortality rate is only 2% to 3%.

If you pay attention to the news, stem cell therapy may seem like magic. However, there are very established, approved medical procedures that are commercially available today. One of the most common injuries treated with stem cell therapy is regenerating cartilage in the knees and the shoulders. Knee pain is a common problem that can originate in any of the bony structures.  Damage to the knee joint or the ligaments and cartilage is not unusual as we age.

These non-surgical stem cell injection procedures happen within a single day and may offer a viable alternative to those who are facing surgical treatments, like joint replacement. Patients are typically able to walk away from the procedure, recovering in an outpatient setting. This simplicity of the stem cell injections allows patients to avoid the lengthy rehabilitation periods that are typically required to help restore strength, mobility and range-of-motion following invasive joint surgeries. Lastly, patients are far less vulnerable to the risks of surgeries, such as infection and blood clots. While any medical treatment involving injections has possible complications, the risks are significantly less when compared to more invasive options provided to patients with serious joint damage.

Frozen shoulder is another disease that is very common. It is a condition characterized by stiffness and pain in your shoulder joint. Nobody knows for sure what causes it, yet it can turn a fully functional shoulder into one that can’t move at all in a matter of months. Today, the alternative for surgery is the stem cell transplant. Patients easily recover and are able to return to their regular activities in a much shorter time than they would with regular surgery.

If you have a condition that you want treated with stem cell therapy, it is incredibly important to ensure you see qualified medical professionals. Patients in the San Antonio, Texas area should consider the Stem Cell Orthopedic Institute of Texas. Their qualified professionals can perform your injections precisely and cleanly.

Platelet Rich Plasma Treatment VS Stem Cell Therapy

Patients who need medical help with pain reduction, tissue healing, tissue repair or bone regeneration are increasingly turning to regenerative medicine. The more researchers explore, the more incredible their results seem. News stories mention a diverse range of conditions, from multiple scoliosis to strokes, that inspire hope for the future of regenerative medicine. Right now, the exciting potential for stem cell treatment seems limitless!

Along with the use of stem cells, platelet rich plasma is becoming a viable and more affordable treatment option. Platelet rich plasma therapy has been used for many years in surgical centers worldwide. In the last ten years, doctors have begun injecting platelet rich plasma separate from surgery to aid in the regeneration of tissues.

Medical professionals have known for years that platelets play an important role in healing. These very tiny blood components help form a blood clot during injury. Platelets also contain hundreds of proteins called growth factors, which are very important in the healing of injuries. When you injure an area like a ligament or a muscle, they seep into the wound during the bleeding that normally occurs. They then set up a blood clot to stop the bleeding and start to release growth factors to the area to coordinate a repair response.

The body’s first response to soft tissue injury is to deliver platelet cells. Platelets initiate repair and attract the critical assistance of stem cells. PRP therapy’s natural healing process intensifies the body’s efforts by delivering a higher concentration of platelets. Platelet rich plasma treatment involves a small sample of your blood drawn. This is similar to getting a lab test sample. Afterwards, the sample is placed in a centrifuge that spins the blood at high speeds, separating the platelets from the other components. The concentrated platelet rich plasma is then injected into and around the point of injury. This jump-starts and significantly strengthens the body’s natural healing signal.

Because your own blood is used, the concerns associated with finding a matching donor are not applicable to either platelet rich plasma treatments or stem cell therapy. There is no risk of a transmissible infection and a very low risk of allergic reaction.

Platelet rich plasma treatment is generally good for helping damaged tissues that could heal on their own given enough time but need to be sped up, either for comfort or safety. While platelet rich plasma treatment may help recruit a few stem cells to the area, stem cell injection therapy is much more advanced. Stem cells are for tissues that are totally beyond normal repair, rather than assisting in the natural healing process.

Platelet rich plasma treatment is a revolutionary treatment that relieves pain by promoting long lasting healing of musculoskeletal conditions. This rapidly emerging technique is showing exciting potential with:

• ·         Shoulder (rotator cuff tendinitis)
• ·         Wrist/hand (arthritis, cartilage damage)
• ·         Elbow (tennis elbow)
• ·         Hip (arthritis)
• ·         Knee (jumper’s knee)
• ·         Ankle/foot (arthritis)
• ·         Neck (whiplash injuries)
• ·         Back (lower back pain)

If you are a candidate for platelet rich plasma therapy, it is a less invasive option compared to surgery and could provide permanent relief. Platelet rich plasma therapy also offers a lower out-of-pocket cost, lower risk of infection, and shorter recovery period. Platelet rich plasma therapy is an option for patients with moderate osteoarthritis or chronic tendonitis. It cannot recruit enough stem cells to adequately repair an extreme level of injury.

The goal of platelet rich plasma treatment is permanent pain resolution. Initial improvement may be seen within a few weeks, gradually increasing as the healing progresses. Research studies and clinical practice have shown platelet rich plasma therapy to be very effective at relieving pain and returning patients to their normal lives. Many famous athletes, like Tiger Woods and Rafael Nadal, have received platelet rich plasma treatment for various problems, such as sprained knees and chronic tendon injuries. These types of conditions have typically been treated with medications, physical therapy, or even surgery. Some athletes have credited platelet rich plasma treatment with their being able to return more quickly to competition.

Although stem cell treatments are also used to repair injured tissues, the procedures are executed in a different manner. Stem cells are also found in the human body but they play a fundamentally different role in the body’s normal healing process. Stem cells can be converted into any cell that the body needs. The body utilizes stem cells to substitute damaged and/or injured cells. This process allows natural healing and repair of the injured or damaged cells.

As the body gets older the amount of natural reserved stem cells starts to decline. This is why the healing process is slower as the body gets older. Stem cell therapy resolves this shortage by injecting supplementary stem cells into the injured/damaged area of the body. This triggers the cell replacement, natural healing, and pain relief.

Both stem cell therapy and platelet rich plasma treatment require trained medical professionals in order for them to be safely and effectively applied to damaged tissue. If you are in the San Antonio area, consider visiting the Stem Cell Orthopedic Institute of Texas for a consultation on how regenerative medicine can help you.