Dr. Berger discusses the use and benefits of fat-derived stem cells in fat transfer procedures, and the future implications of stem cells for cosmetic and anti-aging medicine.

Liposuction has quickly become one of the most common procedures for fat removal and body sculpting, but the typical costs can make it too expensive for most to consider as a reasonable option. According the the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, the national average surgeon fee for liposuction in 2010 averaged $2,884. As you can see from the following chart from liposuction.com, the costs of traditional liposuction can be astronomical, even on the lower end of the price range.

A large part of the cost associated with traditional liposuction comes from the use of general anesthesia and the use of surgery. There can be additional costs for the use of surgical suites, supplies, testing, medication, and post-procedure treatments.

By cutting out the use of surgery and general anesthesia, Rejuvalife is able to offer the most affordable prices for our Advanced Liposuction procedures, including Liposculpture, Smartlipo™ and BodyJet™.  No matter what area on your body you choose, you will pay as little as $995 per area with our special deals.  With financing options available, patients can pay as little as $95 per month for their procedure.

The price isn’t the only difference between advanced and traditional liposuction. Our advanced, minimally-invasive, non-surgical procedures use only local anesthetic, and produce incredible results that are visible nearly instantly, without the risks, discomfort, or downtime associated with traditional liposuction and general anesthesia. There are no stitches, no unsightly scars, less bruising, and less swelling. Patients walk in and walk out just before and immediately after their procedures, and can resume their normal routine as soon as the next day.

If you would like to learn more about your advanced liposuction options, please visit our website or call (310)276-4494.

If you’ve been considering liposuction, you’ll be pleased to know that with today’s technology there are minimally invasive non-surgical options that won’t interrupt your lifestyle.

Liposuction is one of the most popular cosmetic procedures for removing fat and has been used for decades.   Beverly Hills’ Dr. Berger’s advanced awake liposuction techniques have replaced harsh and outdated methods. Dr. Berger has pioneered many of today’s fat loss and body contouring techniques and technologies that he uses, instead of the old, aggressive traditional methods. With newer liposuction technologies such as Liposculpture, Smartlipo™ and BodyJet™, you can get the results you want without the risks of cutting, general anesthesia and IVs associated with traditional liposuction.

Advantages to the patient

• Dr. Berger uses only minimally invasive non-surgical techniques
• Your Procedure is done while awake, so no general anesthesia is necessary
• Little or no pain during procedure
• Results are noticed almost immediately
• We never use general anesthesia, No IV’s, No Cutting
• Your recovery is faster & easier with little to no downtime
• There are no unsightly scars, no stitches, minimal bruising
• Refined techniques & expertise result in greater skin tightening for all ages
• Combination treatments are more comprehensive & achieve optimum results
• Advanced methods replace old aggressive, traditional lipo surgery
• Gentle techniques & excellent skills achieve permanent, superior results!
• Our patients walk-in for treatment & they walk-out after treatment

Advanced Liposuction options:

• Liposculpture is a minimally invasive procedure which uses local tumescent anesthesia to permanently remove body fat with suction. Liposculpture is less traumatic on the body than traditional liposuction because there is no general anesthesia or IV sedation used. Learn more
• Smartlipo™ Laser Lipo is a breakthrough body sculpting technique in Los Angeles which uses laser energy to melt fat and tighten the skin. Smartlipo™ is particularly effective in treating small areas such as the jawline, neck, chin, knees, bra fat, and more. It is also ideal used in combination with Liposculpture or BodyJet for added skin tightening and for correcting contour irregularities, which can occur after liposuction surgeries. Learn more
• BodyJet™ Liposuction uses water to gently loosen and remove fat cells. The gentle method and precision instruments allow for remarkably accurate results with far less recovery time and bruising than any other liposuction method used in Beverly Hills today. Learn more
• Fat Transfer is a procedure which can correct skin defects and other depressions on the face and body. Fat is removed from an area where there is excess, such as the abdomen, and then used to naturally plump up other areas like the hands, face, calves, buttocks or other areas. Learn more
• Fatdissolve is a an injection lipolysis method for reducing or eliminating smaller localised fat deposits. This innovative treatment for dissolving small deposits of fat involve no significant downtime, and is non-invasive without the side effects that are commonly associated with liposuction. Learn more

If you live in the Los Angeles or Beverly Hills area and would like to explore your options for body contouring or schedule complimentary consultation you can contact Rejuvalife Vitality Institute at 310-276-4494 or Click Here.

Dysport is a newly approved cosmetic procedure that can be used to treat and relax wrinkles in the forehead and around the mouth. Dysport is a new alternative to Botox, which is an incredibly popular procedure used by many.

Both procedures involve the use of a form of the toxin which causes botulism to temporarily paralyze the muscles, thus minimizing or eliminating unwanted lines and wrinkles. Dysport is not as thick as Botox, allowing it to spread more easily over an area. This is often preferred in light muscled areas such as those near the eyes, specifically when treating Crow’s Feet. Similarly, many specialists prefer to use Botox when treating areas with thick muscles, such as the lines between the eyebrows.

While both Dysport and Botox are temporary procedures, studies suggest that Dysport results can last up to 6 months, while Botox treatments must be repeated after about 3 months. Also, Dysport injections can show results in about 1 to 3 days, while Botox injections normally take 5 to 15 days before any improvement can be seen.

Side effects of Dysport are very similar to Botox. Numbness, bruising, swelling, or a feeling of burning may be felt in and around the injection site. Simply placing ice before and after the procedure in the treated area can alleviate any of these issues. Some studies suggest that Dysport may be more likely to form antibodies. The body forms antibodies in response to a foreign substance inside of the body. If this happens with Dysport, the botulism will be neutralized and may not work as well. While this may happen in some cases, antibodies have been known to form for Botox as well. Many current Botox patients switch to Dysport once Botox stops working for them.

In terms of cost, Dysport and Botox are quite similar. Initially, Dysport appears to cost about a third of what Botox costs. However, the potency of the injections is approximately a third of the potency of a Botox injection, meaning you will need 3 times the injections to achieve the desired result. Hence, the prices are very similar. In either case, many specialists are willing to set up a payment plan for most procedures.

While both Dysport and Botox are similar chemically and cost-wise, Dysport is a better choice due to the longevity and quickness of its results. Even though Botox has been around much longer, hundreds of clinical trials have proven Dysport’s success and dozens more have proven its safety.

The woman above isn’t thinking about how many times she’s going to the gym this week. You wouldn’t be either if you were in the middle of a contraption-looking spa treatment that’s known to contour the body, reduce stress, help your body regain its natural strength, tighten and rejuvenate the skin, all while shedding inches of fat.

Enter: the latest slim-down spa session on our radar: the 7E Treatment, an FDA-cleared bio-electrical stimulation treatment for body contouring. According to the RejuvaLife Vitality Institute in Los Angeles, one of the few medspas offering the treatment: “Patients remain in a relaxed state while special waveforms contract and relax the muscles, providing immediate, long-lasting results. Patients benefit from immediate inch reduction and increased muscle strength.” They also report that patients feel completely relaxed during the treatment, putting them into a “zen-like” state of mind. When it comes to medical weight loss Los Angeles residents know that there is no easier method!

Although you will likely see a difference after one session, the recommended protocol is 1 to 5 treatments a week, no longer than 1 week apart, depending on your weight loss goals.

The 7E Treatment system, which formerly existed as a similar treatment called Torc Plus, attacks your problem areas with three levels of stimulation:

* Level 1: Classic Vector. With the use of sinusoidal currents, the deep muscles are contracted in a torsional manner, from the innermost to the outermost muscle groups, for increased lymphatic drainage and body contouring.

* Level 2: Power Sequence. Continuous muscle action is stimulated by three integrated waveforms, allowing for increased core strength and muscle endurance with no pain.

* Level 3: Dynamic Rotation. All muscles in the abdominal wall are contracted sequentially using a unique waveform which promotes deep contouring and maximum inch reduction.

A little reluctant to believe that an hour lying down on a couch being jolted with electronic waves will ever do the trick? Rejuvalife is holding a demo event at their spa on July 21st, and is also leading a clinical study about the abdomen, relating to this treatment. If you are in LA and interested in checking it out, email me (michelle(at)spaweekmedia(dot)com) for details.

It’s still quite new, and we’re still investigating the treatment to bring you more news and information first hand. In the meantime, if you’re up for being a guinea to get skinny, the 7E Treatment will be offered at RejuvaLife. Call us today at 310.276.4494 to schedule your 7E treatment and be a part of our special promo rate: 6 treatments for $700. 00 (reg. price is $150 per session). SAVE $200 on package. Restrictions apply.

I’ve written about surgical fat transfer before. As in many cosmetic procedures, surgical fat transfer originated from a reconstructive procedure—primarily in breast reconstruction for mastectomy patients. It only makes sense that fat is a perfect filler. There’s absolutely no chance of an allergic reaction, as it comes from your own body. Plus, since it’s injected, there are no incisions.

Yet, already other doctors have voiced concerns about the long-term safety of the procedure, claiming that it may increase the risk of breast cancer and that the implanted tissue could harden, causing deformity and possibly masking tumors.

There is no evidence of any increase in breast cancer or that the implanted tissue will harden. We can increase a woman’s breasts up to 2 cup sizes when the breasts are properly prepared.

In a platelet rich plasma-infused fat transfer using Selphyl, a small amount of the patient’s blood is spun in a centrifuge to separate out the protein-rich plasma which contains concentrated growth factors. This is then mixed with the fat and placed into the breasts like a supercharged fertilizer. This is an excellent way to insure that the transplanted fat will “take” and will last an extremely long time, perhaps indefinitely.

Imagine a liposuction method that’s kinder on your body and one of the most potent methods to yield ready-to-inject fat for fat grafting into your hands, face, breasts, into wrinkles and acne scar depressions. It’s here and we know you want to know about it.

As many of my readers know, liposuction was originally created back in 1974 by Dr. Giogio Fischer, an Italian gynecologist. Over the years it’s become more refined, to eliminate excessive bleeding, pain and rippling of the skin after the procedure. The tumescent technique ultimately enabled patients to benefit from liposuction under local anesthesia without the fear of undesirable skin depressions or excessive bleeding. I warrant that the Body-Jet is tumescent squared. Better than anything I’ve seen so far.

This is why I think Body-Jet is the best liposuction method available today

First, in traditional liposuction, the anesthesia is combined with the saline and infused into the body at the beginning of the procedure. In Body-Jet, the cannula distributes a continuous spray of Lidocaine (liquid anesthesia) into the area, which makes it much more comfortable for the patient and eliminates much of the bruising and bleeding of the procedure. This makes for a faster recovery and, hence, less time away from business and social activities. Patients both look and feel better, sooner.

Secondly, in traditional tumescent or laser liposuction, the fat cells are physically forced apart. In Body-Jet, the fat cells are sprayed with the fluid so that they essentially float out, preserving them in a way that makes it easy to use those fat cells for immediate injection into another part of the body. They literally are sent into a special container so that they require less processing to inject. I can rapidly remove fat from one part of you and inject it into another part of you where you need it—such as into wrinkles, into the backs of your hands, into scars, into the breast tissue, just about anywhere. And the quality of the fat is better, too! Therefore, it lasts longer—about 80% of the fat is retained compared with only about 50% of the fat retained from fat cells that are put through the centrifuge.

Third, traditional liposuction is more traumatic to the surrounding tissues and blood supplies. Body-Jet is gentler and safer. The final appearance of the skin is much better in Body-Jet as well, with much less risk of dimpling or uneven contours.

Check out our website for more info about Body-Jet and watch my video for more info on this amazing new technology!

Whether placed in the face, hands, the buttocks or used instead of implants for breast augmentation, transferring your own fat from places you don’t want it, to places you do want it, our “state-of the-art” technologies and methods get you the results you are looking for at Rejuvalife.

Fat transfer, often called fat transplantation, fat injecting or microlipoinjection, has fabulous application for smoothing and repairing aging hands, plumping facial wrinkles and lifting saggy cheeks, creating more curvaceous buttocks, and enlarging breasts.

Though it’s new to many, fat transfer is actually quite old. In 1893, German doctor Franz Neuber took a small bit of upper-arm fat to rebuild the face of a patient who had a pit in her cheek, and in 1895 the first breast augmentation was performed by Dr. Karl Czerny with fat from the patient’s lower back. We’re already performing the latest fat transfer procedures using the Body Jet , which gets the best fat from the patient, is fast and has minimal downtime.

Think about it—would you prefer your own fat—a substance from your body that your body will not reject—to rejuvenate your face, breasts, buttocks and hands or artificially-produced substitutes? Of course, the answer is an easy one.

As far back as 1998, Dr. Robert Alexander, a faculty member of the Department of Surgery, University of Texas Health Science Center, in San Antonio, TX conducted a fat transfer study that was quite encouraging. In his trial, 70 women from 21-45 years of age had fat transfer to their breasts. Although there were concerns that patients might develop microcalcification (tiny specks of mineral deposits), only 3% of the women developed them—no more than with any other breast augmentation procedure.  The most recent studies continue to show fat as a viable alternative to implants and dermal fillers.

The biggest concerns about using fat instead of implants and fillers is the question of how much fat the body will “keep”, i.e., that will remain over time and not reabsorbed by the body. In Alexander’s study, approximately 60-75% of the transferred fat volumes were retained after the transfer. Considering that fat injections and transfers are permanent, compared with an implant that will eventually have to be replaced, and that most dermal fillers (Juvederm, Restylane, etc) used in the face and hands last a maximum of a year, this is a viable alternative!

In our practice, our new Body Jet Advanced-Lipo gives us the ability to use the Body Jet to harvest fat in near perfect condition for use in Fat Transfer procedures. For one, this kind of liposuction is safer, more precise and causes very little discomfort or downtime for our patients. It can be done in conjunction with other skin tightening treatments such as SmartLipo, although most of our patients find that their skin is left in excellent condition post-procedure with Body Jet alone. Also, we can use the extracted fat within minutes in a Fat Transfer treatment to restore volume to the face and/or hands, if desired.

I was explaining our new Body-Jet procedure to a patient last week, and how one of the great things about the Body-Jet Liposculpture procedure was the ability to use the Body-Jet to harvest fat in near perfect condition for use in Fat Transfer procedures. The patient asked me why she would need or want to transfer fat – GOOD QUESTION!  I’ve posted the answer I gave her as the subject of my latest video:

If you have any further questions on this, or any other procedure or topic, feel free to post them here, on our Facebook page, or give the office a call at 877-REJUVMD.

Thanks for reading,

Andre Berger, M.D.

I talked recently about the newest procedure at Rejuvalife, and now that I’ve been performing the procedure for a few weeks, I’m even more excited that it’s available, and even more so that it’s here at Rejuvalife. Its safer, and more precise, with very little discomfort or downtime for the patient. It can be done in conjunction with other skin tightening treatments such as SmartLipo, though the skin is left in excellent condition post-procedure with Body-Jet alone! Also, we can use the extracted fat within minutes in a Fat Transfer treatment to restore volume to the face and/or hands, in desired.

I talk about the benefits and advantages of Body-Jet over other liposculpture methods in the video below, and there are some amazing before and after photos, too.

Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions, please leave a comment on the blog or give us a call – 800-REJUVMD.

Andre Berger, M.D.