The Vampire Facelift hits Collin County in big way

Move over Edward Cullen: There's a new kind of vampire the ladies are after, and it offers lasting beauty too.

A new type of facelift that can give a healthy glow, lasting results and a new attitude has officially hit Big D in a big way -- the Vampire Facelift. Plastic surgeon and former OBGYN Dr. Jeffrey Caruth at Plano Aesthetics has been offering clients the new treatment and said it is a better, more natural way to obtain a younger look.

"The Vampire Facelift basically involves using platelet rich plasma (PRP), which is your own blood," he said. "You draw blood from the patient and, using different types of PRP technology, the tube is spun in a centrifuge, separating the blood from the plasma. The plasma is very concentrated with platelets, which can clot your blood, but they also signal other cells to come repair the area."

Caruth said the platelets signal to other cells in the body, calling them to repair and rejuvenate the area.

"Platelets are filled with granules called growth factor, but when they release that it tells the body the area needs helpers," he said. "The Vampire Facelift takes the plasma, adding calcium to it which activates the PRP, and after it's mixed together forms what's called a fibrin matrix that acts as a filler. You get a longer-lasting result than with a filler that might last six months at the most. Aside from the healing effect, you get a regenerative property; and after a month, the skin is smoother and more effervescent."

Caruth said the Vampire Facelift uses the same technology to inject the PRP into areas needing rejuvenation or regeneration, which can be anything from acne scars to surgical scars to wound healing -- any area needing repair.

"The skin looks newer and younger," he said. "It's more than filling; you are anti-aging your skin and your soft tissue."

It's also a cheaper, longer-lasting option for those on a budget. Most facelifts call for nearly eight CC's of filler at about $500 per CC. Those results last about six months and patients are put on a cycle, needing a boost every six months.

"Most people buy fillers and can only afford to buy one or two vials of filler, which is a drop in the bucket to what they need," he said. "The Vampire Facelift is more economical and has a 'wow' result."

The lift has been featured in national news and is getting very popular, he said, but it's not the only appearance-improving trick Caruth offers clients. With more clients asking for fillers and fat transfers and liposuction, Caruth can address any body-image concern.

"I started doing cosmetic surgery about seven years ago, and I am actually a board-certified OBGYN," he said. "I started getting into the cosmetic stuff with Botox, fillers and that type of stuff. Then it just kind of advanced from there. I never thought I would be doing what I am doing."

Caruth retired from OBGYN and is now offering services like body contouring, breast augmentation, fat transfer and facial rejuvenation.

In 2006, Caruth learned the ropes of liposuction when SmartLipo -- a laser-assisted liposuction -- hit the scene. He said the new type of liposuction transformed the procedure into a minimally invasive procedure that could be done in the doctor's office with local anesthesia.

"The shift has occurred within the last five or six years, and people are wanting to have minimally invasive types of procedures," he said. "Obviously, lipo is very popular, but people are wanting to have it done without the traditional [general] anesthesia. It's more of a doctor's office or minor procedure that can be done under local anesthesia, so that's kind of what I have been doing."

The advantage is not only that it is minimally invasive, but also it tightens skin better than any other type of lipo that's available. In 2008, another new type of liposuction called Body Jet tempted Caruth to broaden his scope.

"It's a German technology that uses a water jet to essentially wash or rinse the fat cells out," he said. "I was the first one in the United States to do Body Jet. Fat transfer has been done in the United States for the [past] 20 years or so, but people were not especially pleased with the results. With the newer technology like water-assisted liposuction, the fat cells were healthier and less traumatized by the procedure."

There is a proper technique for use of the fat cells, he said, whether it's using the fat cells to augment the face, hands, buttocks or breast. Fat transfers are not gender-specific, and Caruth has seen quite a few men get the procedure.

"I have men who come in and would like to have a butt augmentation because their butts have gotten flat over the years," he said. "I see a lot of guys who are in their 20s and 30s who are in the gym five days a week but can't get rid of their love handles or their chest or whatever areas they have. Everybody is now spending half their lives in a gym trying to look good, and a lot of them can't get the body they dream of and consider their options."

This is a big change from what plastic surgery used to be, he said.

"It's not like the old days when people had an aversion to having plastic surgery," he said. "Guys originally thought they didn't need it. But after seeing other men do it, they reconsider. I think it has a lot to do with a different generation."

Caruth said most of the individuals he treats are those who are very health-conscious and need a little help to reach their goals.

"They are eating better, exercising and want to look better," he said. "They are not the group of people 10 or 20 years ago that wanted to age gracefully. They don't have the same attitude. If they have the wherewithal to do it, then they will."

But where's the connection between his previous profession as an OBGYN and his new profession as a plastic surgeon? Stem cells.

"As an OBGYN, we had been collecting stem cells from the cord blood for years," he said. "A lot of moms will collect the cells and store them because there are many diseases that can be treated with them. It is more of a bio-insurance. If your child develops a certain disease and you have the stem cells in the bank, then you are way ahead of the game. That's when I first got interested in stem cells."

That interest was carried over when fat transfers became popular and the use of stem cells during the transfers increased.

"In general with a fat transfer, it has become a lot more popular," he said. "There is a lot of research conducted regarding the transfer and the viability of the cells. I have gotten pretty involved in that, and about a year ago we started doing some procedures using stem cells derived from fat."

Fat tissue has more stem cells than any other area of the body, he said. The stem cells are multi-potential cells that can develop into other cell types. They can repair the heart and soft tissue and can be used for congenital facial defects like cleft palates.

"We started doing a lot of fat transfer," he said. "A lot of people don't really know that you can move fat from one place to another, and people really prefer a more natural substance as opposed to a filler that has to be redone every six months. It can last a couple of years."

Stem cells are being used during these transfers to help improve the survival of the fat.

"If you can use fat for other things that may have required an implant, it's very attractive for a lot of people to consider," he said. "It's a really interesting technology that's very popular in Europe. It's not FDA-approved, so you can't advertise it on a billboard or a magazine, but it is very interesting."

Caruth said the cells have an anti-aging property because they can repair and regenerate themselves.

"It is in an early stage and is moving fairly rapidly," he said. "I think that is going to be a huge breakthrough when people are finally able to use it on a regular basis."

Last summer, BioLife Cell Bank opened as the first fat cell bank in Dallas by Dr. David Genecov. The bank offers a bio-insurance, Caruth said, where clients can choose to save their fat cells.

"In the next five years or so, people may be withdrawing their stem cells or fat cells from the bank to use for heart disease or other types of diseases that can be treated with their own stem cells," he said. "The issue with that is that when you say, 'stem cells,' people think about killing babies and that kind of stuff. Fetal stem cell research in the United States is against the law and isn't being done. But fetal stem cells from cord blood are acceptable, and a lot of people don't know you can get stem cells from fat. People have been getting it from bone marrow and other places; it's just much harder to obtain. Fat is readily and easily accessible."

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