Patients report: Fat stem cells for knee problems
Even one year after a knee treatment with his own stem cells, star hairdresser “Charly” Plasil is racing down the slope on his skis without pain
Strong pain in the knee took the owner of the well-known Viennese hairdresser OSSIG hairstyle & beauty, Karl “Charly” Plasil, to the clinic of the doctor DDr. Karl-Georg Heinrich – for stem cell treatment. Four weeks later, the famous hair artist went skiing again. Recently, he returned home from a sporty winter holiday…
Mr. Plasil tells the history himself: “In my job I have to stand the whole day. My hair salon right next to St. Stephen’s Cathedral is on the upper floor. I climbed the stairs up and down about 50 times a day! I kept fit with skiing and cycling as well as Nordic walking.” At some point the strain left its traces on the knees. Mr. Plasil: “The pain got worse and worse. I was pretty handicapped in my job, and finally doing sports was also out of the question. I did not dare to dream of ever being able to ski again…”
The celebrity hairdresser did not want an artificial joint and general anesthesia, thus he sought and found another option: “From my longtime customer DDr. Heinrich I learned about a new method of treating joint damage with stem cells from the body’s own fat. After unsuccessful attempts with medication, physiotherapy, and even arthroscopy, I also saw this as a chance for me!”
DDr. Karl-Georg Heinrich focuses on body fat and its potential applications in medicine for about 20 years: “Initially, I used the patient’s own body fat primarily for aesthetic procedures. About 10 years ago it was discovered that stem cells from fat tissue have a high potential for the regeneration of damaged tissue.”
It has been found that these stem cells can therefore play a major role in the healing of injuries. DDr. Heinrich: “By transplanting the patient’s own fat stem cells we strengthen the natural healing mechanism – thereby we help the body to repair the damage on its own!”
In the meantime, numerous scientific studies worldwide prove this regenerative function. Incidentally, the treatment can basically be done on all joints, i.e., knees, hips, wrists, or fingers.
How does the treatment work? DDr. Heinrich: “I take a small portion of fat from the patient by means of a thin cannula. Therefrom stem cells are separated during the procedure and immediately thereafter injected in the area of the affected joint. The treatment is carried out in local anesthesia and takes about 3 hours. Then the patient can go home and come back again for check-up the next day.”
Karl Plasil still remembers the long-awaited relief: “The pain got noticeably better pretty quickly. I never thought that I would be able to do sports after four weeks without any complications! It’s also great not to limp anymore in my job!”
However, it was not certain whether the success would last. Now this question can be answered, as Mr. Plasil reports: “This year, one year later, I got on my skis again. I was able to wedel down the slope like in the days before my knee problems! Now I am looking forward to the spring, where I will ride my bike again!”
DDr. Heinrich was able to convince himself of the recovery of his patient during the check-up. Of course, he is pleased by the success: “The treatment with stem cells from body fat can even spare severe operations or artificial joints in many cases.”
DDr. Karl-Georg Heinrich, contact clinic:
☎ +43 1 532 18 01, info@ddrheinrich.com
Published in Krone Gesund on February 17, 2018.