Harvesting your own fat and using it to repair damaged, painful joints is the intriguing premise behind Lipogems, a pioneering treatment that’s just launched in the UK at London’s Regenerative Clinic.
The procedure involves sucking out tummy fat via liposuction and separating out the nice, juicy, regenerating cells it contains. After being extracted, cleansed and prepared, this healing fat is then injected directly into arthritic joints, where it’s designed to trigger a healing, anti-inflammatory, painkilling effect.
Most excitingly of all, MRI scans have shown Lipogems has the ability to actually regrow cartilage in arthritic joints. It’s performed as a day-case procedure, can be used on knees, feet and elbows, and it’s claimed it may even avoid the need for invasive joint replacement.
