It was around this same time that science and technology began to catch up with imagination and innovation as the extraction and isolation of certain cells that were able to take on the characteristics of a local host, in virtually any environment became an accessible reality. These cells had been commonly recognized in laboratory settings for generations, though their practical use for humans had remained hypothetical until the 1990s. More than simply offering a chance for cellular growth, the cells presented a chance for controlled, organic development with natural, permanent results. Fig 10

Although the widespread acceptance of what would eventually be called “Stem Cells” was still years off, the introduction of such cells for medicinal use was a revolutionary moment in medicine as doctors began to explore the array of possible uses.

Dr Roger Amar in 1997
In 1997, Dr. Amar experienced his first real break-through with what were knew as "pre-adipocytes", when he was visited by a patient who had found herself with few remaining options for her condition. In need to of a blepharoplasty, or a cosmetic eye-lid surgery, the patient had appealed to numerous physicians, finding only doubt and refusal given the woman’s condition.

Years before, the patient had suffered from meningioma, a slow-growing, typically benign tumour arising from the meninges and often causing damage by pressing upon the brain and adjacent parts, and had undergone invasive cranial surgery to remove the growth. The fear that the meningioma might return proved to be the deciding factor for many of the surgeons she appealed to, leaving her with a sizable opening in the front of her skull from the surgery and blind in left eye after the operation had damaged her left optical nerve.

After much effort and disappointment, she was told of Dr. Amar and scheduled an appointment. Fig 11

After agreeing with the patient that the meningioma had little to no chance of returning, Dr. Amar began preparing for her blepharoplasty, but then began considering what other solutions he might be able to provide for the extensive neuro-surgical survivor.

Bolstered by his own anatomical background and an intuition that led him to believe that by purifying fat cells, he could produce a valuable concentration of what would soon be known of as "stem cells", Dr Amar suggested that he might be able to use these regenerative cells to help close the bone gap that had been left by the invasive surgery.

Having convinced the patient of the possibility of closing a painful chapter of her life, he inserted adipose cells beneath the periosteum, the thin layer membrane that envelops bones and facilitates growth. The cells Dr. Amar used were in his view, premature fat cells, extracted from the patient’s own body to ensure continuity and to avoid any possibility of immune rejection.

After successfully completing the blepharoplasty, Dr. Amar and his patient waited patiently to see the results. They were not disappointed. After just three months, the cells implanted by Dr. Amar had spurred dramatic bone growth, closing the hole left by the previous surgery, completing the healing process. Fig 12

Coupled with the effective blepharoplasty and the fact that the meningioma did not, as both Dr. Amar and the patient predicted, return, the surgery was ruled a rousing success. More importantly, the fact that the cells extracted from the patient had taken to the periosteum so quickly and effectively, adopting the characteristics of the bone with surprising ease, opened an entirely new world of possibility to Dr. Amar.

These were, after all, organic materials drawn from a patient’s own body, which not only assured the acceptance by the host tissue, but also greatly increased the longevity of the new tissue. This would not be an artificial filler that could shift or need to be reshaped, nor was it a process that would need to be replicated in the future. This was the controlled replication of a body’s natural growth with permanent results.

Full of confidence and eager to explore the myriad uses of such a discovery, Dr. Amar turned his attention towards figuring our a way to apply these permanent, regenerative cells in the most advantageous way for his patients. The safe and lasting method he had imagined was finally coming into focus.

Or visit:   The Amar Clinic website: Stem cells FAMI rejuvenation