Joint Pain: What are the advantages of Lipogems compared to other treatments?

Joint pain has various causes, from inflammation to trauma, as well as osteoarthritis, tendinitis, and bursitis.

Generally, joint pain can be treated with medications, conservative therapies like physiotherapy, and joint injections. However, in many cases, these therapies are insufficient or don't provide the benefits achievable through regenerative medicine and surgery.

We discuss this with Professor Carlo Tremolada, Specialist in plastic and reconstructive surgery and maxillofacial surgery, expert in regenerative medicine and surgery, inventor of the Lipogems® patent and Scientific Director of Image Regenerative Clinic.

For all these patients, Lipogems offers a non-surgical alternative for treating musculoskeletal injuries, having demonstrated in numerous independent studies superior clinical results compared to other conservative treatments. Furthermore, this therapy has scientifically proven to be more effective than other regenerative medicine options that use only stem cells or platelet factors.

What are the benefits of articular Lipogems?

Lipogems treatment for joints is a minimally invasive procedure that has demonstrated reduced pain and inflammation, improved mobility and functionality of damaged joints and tissues, drastically reduced recovery times, and improved outcomes of certain surgical procedures it can be combined with, such as rotator cuff repair, while also reducing the risk of post-operative complications. Although it is a minimally invasive procedure, Lipogems treatment is performed in an operating room and requires brief observation time in the clinic after injection.

Lipogems is an autologous procedure, using the patient's own fat tissue, thus eliminating the risk of allergic reactions or rejection. The treatment requires the use of a cannula under local anesthesia in the abdominal area, which leaves no scarring, to extract fat tissue with a special syringe, similar to mini-liposuction. The fat microfragmented within the Lipogems device through a specific mechanical action becomes MFat Lipogems, a tissue extremely rich in active regenerative cells that is grafted, takes root, and continues to produce benefits long-term. Based on the patient's joint condition and symptoms, treatment may need to be repeated in 1-2 years, as in cases of severe osteoarthritis; in all other cases, one injection is sufficient for complete healing.

When the procedure needs to be repeated, is a new extraction necessary?

It is not necessary to perform a fat extraction each time the Lipogems injection needs to be repeated. A single adipose tissue extraction can be performed with a larger quantity than needed for a single injection and then cryopreserved. Fat cryopreservation for regenerative use is known as banking and allows preservation of all vital characteristics and properties of the freshly extracted adipose tissue for up to 6 years.

Cryopreserved fat for regenerative use is stored in the first Italian Lipobank in Cesena, authorized by the National Transplant Center and the Regional Transplant Center of Emilia Romagna, where adipose tissue extracted with the Lipogems system is processed, validated, and stored for all regenerative purposes. Using internationally certified (TUV) adipose tissue cryopreservation and thawing technology that meets the highest safety and sterility standards, the fat can be used in the future for both subsequent joint injections and other regenerative uses, such as regenerative facelifts, as filler for facial aesthetic rejuvenation, volumetric procedures like breast reconstruction, and treatment of various pathologies and disorders.

Currently, only fat extracted with the Lipogems processing system can be preserved: lipoaspirate, which is mainly used for volumetric procedures, and/or Lipogems for regenerative procedures is authorized for banking by the National Transplant Center.