LAVIV
(azficel-T)
What It Does
LAVIV is an innovative, personalized cell therapy that utilizes the body’s own collagen-producing cells to treat moderate to severe nasolabial fold wrinkles – more commonly known as smile lines. Over the course of 3 treatments, collagen-producing cells (called fibroblasts) are injected under the skin along the wrinkle line, reducing the depth of the wrinkle and producing a smoother look around the mouth. Because these fibroblasts are produced from the patient’s own genetically identical skin cells, the side-effects that might occur with other types of cosmetic “fillers” are reduced. The effects of LAVIV have been clinically proven to last a full 6 months.
Procedure Basics
Once you and your doctor have determined that LAVIV’s personalized cell therapy is appropriate for the treatment of your smile lines, your doctor will take three small skin samples from behind your ear. These skin cell biopsies are then sent to Fibrocell Sciences (the makers of La Vív), where state-of-the-art processes will expand your skin cell samples into the millions of fibroblasts that will be used for your treatments. The process takes approximately 3 to 6 months and includes a quality control process followed by cryogenic storage at the Fibrocell Sciences FDA-inspected manufacturing facility.
When your LAVIV treatment cells are ready for shipment, your doctor will be notified and in turn schedule 3 sessions with you. The sessions will be spaced about 3 to 6 weeks apart. Your doctor may apply a topical anesthetic to reduce any discomfort during the procedure, a process during which your LAVIV therapy cells (fibroblasts) are injected beneath the skin along the nasolabial fold wrinkles. The time each treatment takes will depend on the depth of the wrinkles being treated and the number of injections required. The full effects of LAVIV therapy will be most visible following the third and final treatment.
Recovery
Most patients are able to resume a normal day’s activities following each LAVIV treatment. Similar to other skin therapies that require multiple skin injections, mild redness, swelling, puffiness, itching, bleeding or bruising at the injection sites are the most common post-treatment concerns.
A cold compress may be lightly applied to the injection sites for 2-3 minutes periodically, but ice should not be applied. You should not touch or wash the area for 24 hours or apply make-up (or sunscreen or other skin preparations) or rub, scrub, or manipulate the injection sites for 72 hours. Call your doctor immediately if you experience any persistent or unexpected side effects.
Additional Information
The timing of your treatment sessions is important and your treatment cells have an expiration period, so be sure to schedule appointments that you know you can attend. Prior to each treatment session, you and your doctor will verify that your LAVIV treatment vial belongs to you as it is critical that only your specific LAVIV fibroblasts are used in your therapy. Otherwise, severe allergic reactions to the therapy cells can occur.
The harvesting of your skin cells will require your doctor to remove 3 small biopsies from behind your ear. Although they will not be noticeable, they will need to heal and should be cared for as any small cut or abrasion. Your doctor will advise you on caring for your biopsy site in addition to providing post-treatment care information.
Obtaining an adequate set of skin biopsies is critical to the success of creating your personalized LAVIV therapy. Once your samples have been submitted to Fibrocell Sciences, your doctor may be required to re-submit a new set of skin samples if an inadequate amount of skin cells prohibits the development of your LAVIV therapy cells. Any unused fibroblasts will be cryogenically stored at Fibrocell Science’s manufacturing facility for future treatments.
LAVIV has been FDA-approved for the treatment of nasolabial fold wrinkles (smile lines) only and has not been studied in the treatment of other facial lines and wrinkles. If you have other facial areas of concern, your doctor may discuss additional treatments to address other cosmetic problems.
Be sure to let your doctor know if you suffer from any skin problems or are taking any medications that may interfere with the LAVIV therapy. As with other injection products, care should be taken to avoid aspirin and other blood thinning products to reduce your risk of bleeding and excessive bruising. Your doctor may not consider you a candidate for LAVIV therapy if you have skin that is prone to scarring or keloid scars, or if you suffer from any skin cancers or genetic diseases of the skin. The effectiveness of LAVIV has not been sufficiently tested on skin of color. You cannot be treated if you have an active infection of the face, or you are known to be allergic to one of the processing components of the product. These components include the antibiotics amphotericin and gentamicin, bovine serum (from cattle), and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO).
For More Information
For additional information on the technology behind LAVIV cell therapy and more treatment information, visit http://mylaviv.com.
To discuss the benefits of LAVIV and to decide if LAVIV therapy is right for you, schedule a consultation with Dr. Christine Kelley by calling 317/575-0330.