Stromal vascular fraction. We know: it’s quite the mouthful of medical jargon, so in this blog we’ll try to help you to better understand what ‘stromal vascular fraction’ actually means and how it’s used to treat pain. From now on, we’ll stick to calling it SVF.
SVF is a form of stem cell therapy that helps to manage pain. In this treatment, SVF is extracted from adipose tissue (a fancy way of saying fat tissue), which has an abundance of cells that can be differentiated and manipulated into other cell types, cells that play various roles in the process of regeneration, T cells (which help with immunity), B cells (which produce antibodies), and adipose tissue macrophages (white blood cells that attack debris and foreign substances that don’t have the proteins specific to healthy body cells.
Liposuction is performed to remove fat and harvest SVF cells in the fat. Vascular tissue (sturdy and supportive) is separated from the fat, manipulated, and then tested for cell count. After this process, the patient receives the vascular tissue through IV injection.
How does this actually treat pain? The isolated SVF product that remains after manipulation is in a form is quite broken down, and the structural elements no longer exist so that the cells are prepared for reconstruction or repair. The process has an abundance of stem cells and growth factors. Growth factors are the body’s messengers for signals, and they can produce or reduce inflammation, cause the growth or death of cells, and call in other specialized cells. Together, stem cells and flexible growth factors work to hunt down any damaged tissues in the body and help to repair those tissues naturally.
A specialist should evaluate a patient’s specific case, but SVF Therapy has the propensity to be used to treat a number of different degenerative and inflammatory diseases that can cause pain to those who suffer from them. These diseases include: Arthritis, cardiomyopathy, Parkinson’s, ALS, and Neuropathy.
Patients must be healthy enough to receive local anesthetic and have no cancer or infections to be evaluated for SVF Therapy. The liposuction harvest of SVF and the injection occur in one procedure. While the procedure is not FDA-approved, SVF Therapy is seen as an easily accessible and usable source of cells that can regenerate cells to provide relief from pain. Patients with degenerative or inflammatory diseases should speak with a specialist about their eligibility and the therapeutic benefits of SVF Therapy.
Call the Stem Cell Institute today for more information about SVF.
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