Just a few months ago, the owner of the hairdresser salon OSSIG Karl (“Charly”) Josef Plasil could hardly walk because of pain in the knee joint. In the meantime he is skiing again and is walking quickly on foot – thanks to a knee treatment with stem cells from his own body fat.

Physical activity has always been an essential part of Charly Plasil’s life. Whether he is styling prominent customers together with his team in his salon OSSIG hairstyle & beauty or when he does sports. To keep fit, he always liked to ski, bike, and go Nordic walking.

After years of sporting, however, joint pain suddenly occurred. Charly Plasil could not move as freely as before, because his knee hurt. He was also increasingly troubled in climbing stairs. “To renounce sports was very stressful for me. More importantly, however, I always wanted to give my customers the best possible quality in haircutting and hairstyles. And a perfect haircut requires excellent flexibility, besides talent and good training,” says Charly Plasil. “I know DDr. Heinrich for years and learned from him about the new treatment with stem cells from my own body fat. In this treatment I saw a possibility of being able to move my knee again without pain, without artificial joint, and without general anesthesia. That aroused my interest.”

Successful treatment: Expert hairdresser Charly Plasil is back safely on skis and is also able to walk without pain thanks to a stem cell treatment.

The Viennese doctor DDr. Karl-Georg Heinrich is active in the field of regenerative and aesthetic medicine. For years, he has been dealing with body fat and its benefits for health and beauty. Body fat and its components also play an important role in the regeneration of damaged body tissue. The regenerative potential of the “mesenchymal stem cells” or “stromal vascular fraction”, which are abundantly contained in the fat, is now confirmed by a number of studies.

“Stem cells from adipose tissue have an anti-inflammatory and regenerative effect inside the body. In the treatment of joint diseases with stem cells, medicine makes use of this natural healing mechanism,” explains DDr. Karl-Georg Heinrich. Meanwhile, Mr. Plasil is again fit for the job and sports and enthusiastic about the results of his stem cell treatment. His employees also noticed the improvement of their boss: He was simply in a better mood and did not limp as in the last years. And skiing is again possible without pain! DDr. Heinrich: “This treatment could spare many patients surgical procedures under general anesthesia, artificial joints, and the long healing and elaborate rehabilitation.”

Contact: DDr. Karl-Georg Heinrich: Phone: +43 1 532 18 01, info@ddrheinrich.com.

Photo: OSSIG hairstyle & beauty.

Published in Dein Bezirk on May 8, 2017.

Celebrity hairdresser Karl “Charly” Plasil from Vienna owes new zest for life to a knee treatment with stem cells from body fat

Author: Dr. Wolfgang Exel

Physical activity has always been an essential part of his life for Charly Plasil. Whether in his salon (OSSIG hairstyle & beauty) in downtown Vienna, where he dresses up celebrity ladies and gentlemen, or if he does sports eagerly in his free time – for example, riding the bike, Nordic walking, or skiing down the slope in the winter.

Then the mischief: Suddenly pain in the knee. Mr. Plasil could hardly move properly. Doing sports or even climbing stairs was impossible at all. “It was very difficult for me to do without moving. However, I was also impaired in my professional activity! A perfect haircut requires skill and comprehensive training as well as good mobility…”

But luckily the hairdresser learned about the treatment with stem cells from his own fat tissue from his long-standing customer DDr. Heinrich: “I saw the chance of being able to use my knee free of pain again without surgery. Otherwise an artificial joint would have been necessary.”

The Viennese doctor DDr. Karl-Georg Heinrich is active in the field of regenerative and aesthetic medicine. For years, he has been dealing with body fat and its use for health and beauty. In addition to using it for breast augmentation, for example, body fat also plays an important role in the treatment of tissue damages. This is confirmed by scientific studies.

DDr. Heinrich: “Stem cells from fat tissue have anti-inflammatory and regenerative effects. In the treatment of joint diseases medicine takes advantage of this body’s own healing mechanism.”

Charly Plasil was informed about the method and the course of the planned procedure by his doctor. Optimally prepared, he underwent the treatment. First, a small amount of fat was harvested in local anesthesia. DDr. Heinrich then separated mesenchymal stem cells from this fat and injected them into the area of the joint immediately afterwards.

„Basically, this therapy can be done on all joints,” says the physician. After two hours his patient took a taxi home. The next day he came to the check-up. Within short time the small punctures of the liposuction had healed and the bruises had subsided.

“About three weeks later the pain in the knee decreased significantly,” the hairdresser remembers and confirms today: “Now I am completely free of symptoms and as mobile as before! I am no longer limping and am fully fit for my work.”

In the skiing holiday, Charly Plasil wanted to know it for sure: “I buckled on the skis after the stem cell treatment for the first time. Already riding the ski lift brought the first success experience: I could sit down without pain! But also the “wedeln” itself was as much fun as before!”

The highly satisfied patient has long been riding on the exercise bike again and enjoys the regained mobility. His physician is also delighted: “The fat stem cells obviously stimulate the regeneration of the cartilage in the joint and thereby help to remedy the cause of the pain.”

Contact: Clinic DDr. Heinrich®, ☎ +43 1 532 18 01, info@ddrheinrich.com.

Published in Krone Gesund on April 8, 2017.

Joint damage

When it works in dogs and racing horses – why not in humans? Joint damages of these animals were treated with stem cells taken from their body fat.

Liposuction

“Such treatments have also been successful in humans for a number of years,” reports DDr. Karl-Georg Heinrich (ddrheinrich.com). The physician has, among others, specialized in liposuction and is convinced of the benefits of treatments with the patient’s own fat, which he, for instance, uses for breast augmentation.

These cells are so-called mesenchymal stem cells. After such injections in the vicinity of joints, chronic joint complaints would also have improved. Specifically, the method works as follows: Under local anesthesia a little amount of fat is harvested at the belly or waist region. From this fat the mesenchymal stem cells are isolated, which are then injected into the affected joint areas – mainly knees, hips, hands, fingers.

Criticism

However, critics point out that there is still too little experience with this method. The general practitioner explains: “Of course, there is no guarantee of cure.” However, according to many research works, most patients would report painlessness and significantly improved mobility. Heinrich: “I believe that many people could be spared a long path of suffering with this method.”

Published in Wiener Bezirksblatt on February 20, 2017.

Positive experiences from veterinary medicine with special stem cells in the treatment of osteoarthritis can obviously also be used for humans

Author: Dr. Wolfgang Exel

It worked in dogs and racing horses: Stem cells taken from the animal’s own fat could actually improve damaged joints in four-legged top athletes. For a number of years, such experiments have also been successful in humans, as authors of international studies confirm.

Stem cells from fat tissue must not be confused with those obtained from embryos. However, the so-called mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) from fat tissue are likely to play an important role in the regeneration of worn cartilage and bones.

One of the first doctors who used fat therapeutically is DDr. Karl-Georg Heinrich. Amongst others he specializes in liposuction and is convinced of the benefits of the stem cells contained in the fat: “We have used MSC for over 10 years in breast augmentation and skin regeneration.”

DDr. Heinrich observed that MSC injections in the vicinity of joints also led to an improvement of chronic joint problems. He found out that MSC have already been successfully used internationally in animal studies as well as in human clinical trials.

The procedure: A small amount of fat is taken from the abdominal or hip area under local anesthesia. This fat is used to isolate the mesenchymal stem cells, which are subsequently injected into the affected joint areas (mainly knees, hips, hands, fingers). The procedure is performed on an outpatient basis and the patients are discharged home afterwards.

Critics point out that there is still too little experience with this method. DDr. Heinrich: “Fat contains a large amount of stem cells. For more than 100 years, the patient’s own stem cells have been transplanted without problems when fat injections were carried out. The patient’s own cells are one of the safest ways of treatment in medicine!”

The Viennese doctor though explains the limitations: “Of course, there is no guarantee of cure. However, according to many research studies, most patients report pain relief and significantly improved mobility. I believe that this therapy could spare many people a long path of suffering that eventually leads to an artificial joint.”

DDr. Karl-Georg Heinrich,
General Practitioner from Vienna.
Contact: info@ddrheinrich.com

Published in Krone Gesund on January 21, 2017.

Studies and experience reports show that the joints hurt less after the treatment.

Vienna. Two out of three people over 65 are affected by osteoarthritis. Many younger people also suffer from joint problems, e.g., after sports injuries. Until now, medicine has only been able to treat symptoms such as pain and immobility. In order to restore the mobility of the damaged joints and to alleviate the pain, so far one had to rely on a drug treatment or an artificial joint replacement.

Recent studies and experiences now show that stem cells from body fat can alleviate pain and immobility and contribute to the regeneration of the damaged joints.

For example, a patient suffering from osteoarthritis of the thumb joint (carpometacarpal osteoarthritis) was successfully treated with stem cells from her own fat at the university hospital in Graz, Austria: The patient’s own fat stem cells were injected into the region of the thumb joint of one hand during the procedure. As a result the mobility improved and the patient could use the hand again. Due to the success achieved and the gentle treatment process the patient now wishes to have her other hand treated with stem cells too. “Stem cells from fat tissue have an anti-inflammatory and regenerative effect in the body. Regenerative medicine makes use of this healing mechanism of the body in the treatment of joint diseases with stem cells,” explains Karl-Georg Heinrich, a doctor from Vienna who is working in the field of regenerative and aesthetic medicine. The joint treatment with the body’s own stem cells from fat tissue is performed on an outpatient basis in local anesthesia. “The fat stem cells obviously stimulate the regeneration of the cartilage in the damaged joint and help to remedy the cause of the joint problems,” says Heinrich.

Published in Salzburger Nachrichten on January 18, 2017.