What is AFI+™?
Personalized skin rejuvenation using AFI is a self-cell based procedure that is superior to traditional methods such as mesotherapy and PRP. It provides a long-term effect without the use of artificial materials and frequent return visits, which is necessary with Botox and hyaluronic acid injections. With this procedure, the facial skin is rejuvenated by introducing its own cells – fibroblasts, which replace cells lost with age, restoring youth to the skin. Dermatologists and aging experts recognize this personalized, natural and highly effective method as the most advanced skin rejuvenation treatment available. The effect of one injection lasts for many years.
Skin rejuvenation using your own cells becomes possible due to their productive skin function, producing the main components of the skin matrix. Fibroblasts play an important role in maintaining the structure, firmness, elasticity and hydration of the skin. They synthesize collagen, which provides skin elasticity, as well as elastin, which is responsible for its elasticity. With age, the number of fibroblasts decreases, which leads to deterioration of the skin condition. AFI promotes the skin’s natural repair process, increasing its firmness and elasticity, which gives the face a fresh and youthful appearance.
From skin to cells, and back to skin: effectiveness against wrinkles and scars
Facial skin is a constant reminder of the passage of time, manifested in the form of wrinkles and loss of elasticity. The research conducted by the center’s specialists is constantly being improved, accordingly, improving methods of skin rejuvenation through fibroblast injections.
Wrinkles most often appear on various parts of the face, such as the area above the upper lip, around the eyes, on the forehead and between the eyebrows. These changes are due to the loss of important components of the dermal matrix, including collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid. These changes can also lead to acne scars. To correct such skin defects, various filler substances such as collagen and hyaluronic acid are widely used.
Although these methods are often effective, their effects are limited in time, usually lasting several months, and do not provide long-term skin rejuvenation.
Skin restoration procedure in AFI+™
The procedure is a 3-steps process.
- Biopsy.
The first stage of the process begins with taking a small piece of your skin. The skin is selected from an area containing healthy cells, so it should be from a part of the integument that is not exposed to the sun and is well vascularized.
The dermatologist will often choose the back of the earlobe for this small biopsy (3mm), which meets these criteria and also has the advantage of being nearly invisible. The biopsy is performed under local anesthesia, so the procedure is completely painless.
- Fibroblast cultivation.
From your own skin to skin cells: we grow the healthiest fibroblasts in cell culture. After receiving a sample of your skin, our team extracts fibroblasts from it. These cells are then placed under optimal culture conditions to select the healthiest and fastest growing ones.
The culture is maintained until 40 to 50 million cells are obtained from several hundred extracted from your skin. Once this number is reached (usually within 4 weeks), the cells are ready for injection. If necessary, these cells can also be cryopreserved for subsequent injections years later, ensuring that younger cells are used.
- Injection.
Injections are usually performed on the entire face, but can also be targeted to specific areas, with a total number of injections ranging from 40 to 50 million cells. To achieve optimal results, fibroblasts are injected into the dermis in several shallow injections. To ensure the best results, a Micronjet® micro-needle device from NanoPass Technologies LTD is used to ensure that all cells are correctly injected into the dermis. This treatment can also be applied to the hands, décolleté, or other areas of skin in need of restoration.
The first results are expected approximately 3-4 months after the injection and will continue to improve for approximately 6 months. Autologous Fibroblast Injection is a true skin rejuvenation process that provides long-term results.
Clinically proven effect
Autologous fibroblast treatment was first introduced in 1995 and has been studied in clinical trials involving more than 2000 patients. These studies confirmed the effectiveness of the method and its practical complete absence of side effects, which led to approval of its use in the United States.
This method has been approved and certified by the FDA – the Drug and Food Administration.
Scientific publications
Experts have published several significant scientific papers talking about AFI and the implementation of this method.
- Autologous fibroblasts for the fight against facial wrinkles and the treatment of skin depressions from 1999.
- Injection of autologous cultured fibroblasts for facial contour deformities from 2007.
- Autologous culture of fibroblasts for use in the restoration of aging skin cells from 2011.
- Autologous fibroblasts for the treatment of scars from 2013.
- Evaluation of the results of soft tissue augmentation by fibroblast injection from 2019.
- Long-term follow-up of autologous fibroblast transplantation in a non-randomized clinical trial.
Documentation about AFI scientifically confirms the effectiveness of this method and the long-term results of its results.
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