Unhappy with the appearance of your skin? Renuva® Adipose Matrix is a new skin care treatment that can make your skin feel better and look younger. Renuva® is an all-natural extracellular matrix with regenerative components that, when injected, acts as a scaffold allowing the body to recruit fat cells to attach to it. Renuva® contains the same collagens, growth factors, and proteins as your own fat. It is made from human allograft tissue, and is a safe and effective alternative to small-volume fat grafting. Renuva® is human allograft adipose extracellular matrix. Human tissue has been used for nearly 100 years for reconstructive and other procedures, including skin grafting for burn care, abdominal wall repair, and other surgical procedures. Donated tissue is screened extensively and processed for quality and safety.
How Does Renuva® Work?
Renuva® is an injectable treatment performed by transferring small amounts of allograft fat tissue into your existing fat tissue. Allograft tissue comes from donors and is tested and screened in accordance with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s requirements for donor tissue. After harvesting, the tissue is sterilized to ensure a safe transfer to the recipient’s body.
Once transplanted into your body, Renuva® forms an adipose matrix which acts as a scaffold allowing tissue to regenerate and build around it. Your body uses this matrix to improve skin tone, texture, volume, and appearance.
While using your own body’s fat for this procedure is an option, it requires liposuction to harvest the necessary tissue. Since Renuva® uses donor tissue, it is a less invasive procedure than other fat transplant procedures. Post injection, the formation of blood vessels (angiogenesis) and fat cells (adipogenesis) has been observed. The result is the restoration of volume at the site of treatment.
Who is a Good Candidate for Renuva®?
Renuva® injections are an excellent option for men and women in Mishawaka who want to achieve a more youthful appearance. It can be used wherever fat naturally exists. Common applications include injections in the face, hands, body, or various other locations to restore volume. Also, Renuva® has been used successfully in reconstructive procedures like contour irregularities in the breast following mastectomy and breast reconstruction, cleft lip and palate, Parry-Romberg syndrome, and for facial lipoatrophy associated with HIV treatment.
Renuva® is ideal for healthy individuals interested in fixing problems like:
- Minor skin defects
- Dimples caused by uneven cellulite
- Scarring from previous procedures
- Aging skin
- Skin lacking in volume
- Fine lines and wrinkles
Renuva® is incorporated within the body and replaced with the patient’s own fat cells. As such, this fat will then behave as fat ordinarily behaves with weight gain, loss, and aging.
What to Expect During Renuva® Injections
Renuva® is an outpatient procedure performed right here at the Centre Yourself Medical Rejuvenation Spa. It is a quick procedure that can be performed in as little as half an hour, depending upon the location and size of treatment areas.
A topical or general anesthetic is used to numb the injection site(s) and prevent you from feeling pain during the injections. The procedure uses very thin needles to insert the allograft tissue under your skin. The number of injections you’ll receive depends on your body’s needs and your desired results.
After the injections are complete, the treatment areas will be cleaned and sterilized to reduce the chance of infection. Since Renuva® is a fast procedure, you can schedule your appointment during your lunch break and be back to work in no time.
The process ultimately takes 12 to 16 weeks. Once injected, some volume loss is expected. Renuva® gradually incorporates, and is replaced with, the patient’s own fat during the three-to-four-month period. Therefore, it is recommended to wait at least three months before considering subsequent injections.
Potential Side Effects
As with most injectable treatments, side effects are rare and tend to be minor. Possible side effects of Renuva® injections in Mishawaka may include:
- Discomfort during injections
- Tenderness at injection site for several days afterward
- Redness
- Swelling
- Allergic reactions
- Infection
- Bruising
This treatment should not be used for patients with significant autoimmune disease allergies manifested by a history of anaphylaxis or severe allergen sensitivity.
Comparison to Autologous Fat Grafting
Fat grafting is reportedly very inconsistent, varying from 20 to 80 percent graft survival. Since Renuva® is not a living graft, it cannot die, and has been shown to succeed in larger 20cc volumes within the body. Its performance should be more predictable than grafting your own fat. Autologous fat grafting is performed in an operating room and requires anesthesia, which has its risks and is more expensive. A treatment with Renuva®, on the other hand, is non-invasive and can be performed with no downtime. Results will vary by patient.
When injected, Renuva® over time is replaced with your own fat cells. Once that process is complete, no additional restoration of volume is observed. It is a self-limiting treatment and overfilling the site is not recommended. Serial injections are recommended until the desired result is achieved.
Renuva® at The Centre Yourself Medical Rejuvenation Spa
One of the best features of Renuva® is that results can be seen immediately. Because the fat is injected directly into your body, your skin will look fuller and feel firmer right away. Your skin’s texture and appearance will continue to improve over the next few weeks, but it can take up to three months to see the final results.
If you want to look and feel younger, Renuva® may be right for you. Contact the licensed skin care specialists at the Centre Yourself Medical Rejuvenation Spa to schedule your appointment at our Mishawaka Office.
