Hi guys. Ill post some photos next week when i return home. That will then be 6 weeks post op.
Everything looking great. Texture is awesome, the dent has been greatly smoothed. In alot of lights it looks very superficial and in the worst light it looks acceptable. Id say 60-75% improvement but ill ley you lot be the judge of that.
Pigmentation appears to be coming back but all depends on what mirror or
ight i look in. Its definately "dotty". I think at either 3 or 6 months ill know if it worked but im pretty sure it is, just have to see how much. Swelling is also gone.
Strawberry, thanks i think you are correct. Ill try and find out.
Winnie,yes dr rawlins does laser as well. I think he is also now working out of the skinfx clinic in glascow aside from working as a surgeon for burns patients in the NHS and and also at spire methley hospital in leeds,uk. He tends to be very busy.
I get the feeling that recell is a relatively new tool for acne scarring so me and the others that have had this treatment are more or less test subjects. How can a doc really know what a stem cell will do?.However case studies and advancements seem to be shared between surgeons globally in order for every recell surgeon to learn. This is the impression i get when speaking to Avita spokespeople.That was probably the purpose of the recell symposium in Rome.
All the surgeons we talk about on this forum went to it. Dr fiona wood, dr. Rawlins and dr rajiv sood were the spokespeople for each of the continents. (I got this from the australian stock exchange reports.)
At an absolute minimum, recell dramatically speeds up healing and improves texture with minimum risk of complications. IMHO. Any additional procedure i have will have to be done in combo with it.
hi borec,
it's great to hear about your progress and i'm really looking forward to see the latest pictures!
my cheeks are covered with countless scars (boxscar / icepick type + scarred pores) and i hope to be able to remove or greatly improve them with this procedure. they're not very big or deep, hence my thoughts about the proper ablation / dermabrasion depth in combination with recell ...
did you talk to surgeons in germany as well?
Hi guys,
These pictures are 4 weeks post-op so 1 week old.
I tried to take some closeups so you can have a better Idea on how the texture is.
Of interest is that the treated areas are also free of skin damage/sun spots. i.e If you compare the area that was dermabraded with the skin under my eyes (where I have alot of sun spots you can see how the new skin is free from defects. In hindsight I should have had more dermabraded 
My skin is still slightly erythemic (red/pinkish) but everyday is less and less. Im using Dr Hauschka rose cream daily which seems to help.
the photos are labelled good cheek and bad cheek. The good cheek has a hypopigmentated patch. Im waiting for the melanin to start being produced in this area and hopefully in a few months it will be gone. Cross fingers.
The other cheek had alot of dermabrasion to smooth the scars out so it looks a little patchy as some areas were dermabraded more heavily than other areas. These pics are obvisouly an attempt to catch my skin in the worst light so it reality it looks alot better.
@strawberry: For me recell in combination with laser, dermabrasion etc should ensure the skin heals fast with no complications and a nice new texture. Your essentially laying on a new top layer of dermis&epidermis. If the scars are smoothed out as well it ends up looking superb.
GBL had recell injected into her scar (correct me if im wrong GBL) and this raised the scar considerably so this is also very interesting as her doc has tried something that recell hasnt been deisgned for with amazing succcess. Hopefully this information has been passed back to Avita so they can investigate and potentially open up new avenues for treatment.
To find my surgeon I contacted Avita for advice where I could find recell surgeons close to me and all their referrals were UK doctors and none from Germany which would have been closer. My guess is more of the pioneering work is being done in the UK. There is also a doctor in France who is supposed to be very good and have amazing results.
Edit:here is a doc in germany
I opted for dermabrasion with recell in order to have the same procedure as the clinical trial patients.
In actual fact there is probably no difference between laser and dermabrasion but i wanted to tick all the boxes to make sure I knew i would have the best chance for success.
@Nasser1 and Tricia. Thanks. Im over the moon personally too. If my pigment evens out ill beeven happier.
@Investor. Very good idea for the US readers.
Avita seem to be involved with alot of patients that have had treatment and even visit them in person to see the results first hand. They would have actually come to see me in Leeds if they didnt have prior arrangements. This for me is a sign of a well structured company who are very enthusiastic about their product.
I dont think you have anything to worry about with your investment. If my pigment returns Ill also be the first to buy their shares.
ill report back at the 3months post-op.
the pictures are truly amazing!! i can hardly tell where the big scar used to be, the different shades of redness only give me a subtle hint!
you once mentioned chicken pox scars on your forehead, are they gone?
the rose cream by dr hauschka contains a number of essential oils which could be irritating, especially as the new skin is still sensitive. i had a fraxel repair treatment done and they advised me not to use scented products for the next time,1 or 2 months ... look it up, i want you to be on the safe side! (;
thanks for the link. i'm only aware of 2 places in germany and this is one of it. here's a document published by them:
http://www.hagenmuehle.de/documents/MicrosoftWord-RecellVeroffentlichungInternet_000.pdf
again, thank you for the updates!
Thanks Strawberry. I saw that doc as well. Very detailed report!
I didnt actually ask him to have my chicken pox scars removed as I felt embarrassed about asking for too much :S This was mainly due to the fact that i only saw the doc the morning of the surgery.
instead i asked for the 3-4 chicken pock scars that had been previously lasered and which had hypopigmentation and/or pigmentation/texture problems to be treated with recell.
all but one look excellent. One is still whitish in colour so im still waiting for pigment in this one.
Basically he dermabraded most of my forehead leaving about 1-2 inches from my hairline, brow and temples.
Ill post pics of this next time.
The Doc also told me not to use scented or perfumed products. I just loved the feel of Hauschka on my skin. They have no artificial perfumes added, just essential oils and I havent had any irritation so I guess its ok? also for the first 10 days i had parrafin on my skin which was disgusting. It wasnt until week 3 that i started on Hauschka.
I use E45 at nighttime though.
I saw this article http://biotuesdays.com/2012/05/08/avitas-breakthrough-treatment-for-burns-wounds-and-scars/ today
Avita are about to start prelimiary trials for scar remodelling in combination with recell so as Investor said, there is a chance for US readers to get "free" treatments with hopefully some amazing results. It kinda confrims my thoughts that acne scarring is a relatively new area for recell.
"In the U.S., Avita is conducting a pivotal trial with ReCell for the treatment of partial-thickness burns. It also plans to begin a pilot study in scar remodeling in several weeks, with a pivotal trial targeted to start in the first quarter of 2013. Feasibility studies treating chronic wounds with ReCell are likely to begin in the second half this year."
hi!
you saw that doc? didnt you say that the company only pointed you to places in the UK and France?
you dont have to post pics of your forehead, i can imagine what it looks like based on your description above.
i'm planning to have this procedure done in autumn, 6 months after my repair. i'm not exactly
patient, hopefully this period of time is appropriate.
i have never heard of e45 before, is this the topical you are referring to?
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/skin-and-hair/medicines/e45-cream.html
sounds greasy too! (;
yeah, it's probably ok to slowly reintroduce products and you seem to be doing fine.
let's hope for the (mild) redness to fade and the pigment to return now.
take care!
Sorry it was my bad wording, i didnt "see" him. I should proof read my messages more but sometimes hard when using an ipad. I meant i saw alot of information about him on the internet, and only after my procedure when i was researching the doctors who performed the case studies.
E45 is greasy!
Winnie,yes dr rawlins does laser as well. I think he is also now working out of the skinfx clinic in glascow aside from working as a surgeon for burns patients in the NHS and and also at spire methley hospital in leeds,uk. He tends to be very busy.
Do you know if he or other doctors use Fraxel Re:pair?
does it make much sense to combine the recell procedure with a fractional ablative laser such as the repair?
i did consider it myself and i was told to expect more bleeding during the treatment itself + prolonged redness due to my rosacea but in fact healing was easy and quick.
there's another user on this board though who had both done, maybe it's reasonable for darker skin types ...
got it, borec! i'm no longer confused!
how do you protect your skin from the sun? can you recommend any products?
Dr Khan uses fraxel with recell.Not sure about Jeremy. Always good to get advice from many people. I stayed away from fractional lasers as none of the case studies had used non ablative techniques for my particular condition. That does not mean it wouldnt work well though!, i just dont know of anyone that has success. Ask the doc or ask Avita, thats what I did. Actually Ernesto is is a good example
I use a swiss sun cream that is supposed to be excellent and has no perfumes. Its called DayLong and made by Spirig Pharma.
Dr Rawlns also recommended it, but i already had it.
Dr Khan uses fraxel with recell.Not sure about Jeremy. Always good to get advice from many people. I stayed away from fractional lasers as none of the case studies had used non ablative techniques for my particular condition. That does not mean it wouldnt work well though!, i just dont know of anyone that has success. Ask the doc or ask Avita, thats what I did. Actually Ernesto is is a good example
I use a swiss sun cream that is supposed to be excellent and has no perfumes. Its called DayLong and made by Spirig Pharma.
Dr Rawlns also recommended it, but i already had it.
Jeremy Rawlins doesn't treat with Recell anymore in Leeds. He is immigrating to Australia.
I have contacted Avita, they will send a brochure of all the surgeons in Germany / England who treat with Recell.
Hi Winnie,
Thats interesting.Hes a valuable asset so must have got a good offer!.
Did you call the Leeds clinic? or how did you find out?
Yes my father called the hospital, because my english isn't soo good. It seems that Recell is really growing.
More clinics coming, I wouldn't be suprised if this is getting big and maybe a great company to invest in.
jeremy rawlins is currently working out of glasgow SKIN FX clinic once a month!
I have an appointment in a couple of weeks to get his advice on the next step.
The dent i had is all but gone. The hypopigmented area greatly reduced, it appeared initially that the pigment was going to come back fully, but then a few months later it was whiter again. Now since ive been on holiday more pigment appears to have migrated inwards, so the white area is narrowed further still.
More clinics coming, I wouldn't be suprised if this is getting big and maybe a great company to invest in
This is true. I bought the stock at 11 cents a share a few months ago. it is now 28 cents a share. When the stock recell gets FDA approval I think it will double. This is a very good penny stock to invest in...
jeremy rawlins is currently working out of glasgow SKIN FX clinic once a month!
I have an appointment in a couple of weeks to get his advice on the next step.
The dent i had is all but gone. The hypopigmented area greatly reduced, it appeared initially that the pigment was going to come back fully, but then a few months later it was whiter again. Now since ive been on holiday more pigment appears to have migrated inwards, so the white area is narrowed further still.
would you say that recell was worth it for the hypopigment? How much improvement would you estimate you got? I wonder when it'll be in the US
actually i found that it might be approved in the US by the end of next year (2013) http://investmentlogs.com/news-market-analysis/2012/05/avita-medical-a-solid-biomedical-play/
It will take 12-18 months to know the final result but at the moment I can say that all of the hypopigmentation patches appear to have started to gradually get pigment.
You have to be very patient. Melanocytes have to migrate and then melanin has to first be produced by the melanocytes. It then gradually spreads to neahbouring cells which in turn pass it on to others and so forth. Gradually melanin is spread evenly everywhere. at least thats my understanding. Melanin converts 99.9% of UV to heat!. Our bodies are amazing.
wikipedia is a great source of information and clearly states why one should not get burnt in the sun.
I post more pics at 3 months,i.e 5 weeks from now.
Not sure I understand your question. Depending on ethnicity everyone has certain amounts of natural melanin. More is created with exposure to the sun.
I was told to use sunscreen in order that the melanocytes arent damaged before they have a change to multiply and start functioning. Sunscreen ensures you dont get burnt, thus damaging the new skin cells. I am still slightly erythemic so I havent fully healed. After 12 months Im supposed to start exposing myself more and more. However there is parrallel research to suggest UV treatment immediately post treatment will speed things up.
jeremy rawlins is currently working out of glasgow SKIN FX clinic once a month!
I have an appointment in a couple of weeks to get his advice on the next step.
The dent i had is all but gone. The hypopigmented area greatly reduced, it appeared initially that the pigment was going to come back fully, but then a few months later it was whiter again. Now since ive been on holiday more pigment appears to have migrated inwards, so the white area is narrowed further still.
would you say that recell was worth it for the hypopigment? How much improvement would you estimate you got? I wonder when it'll be in the US
hard to say. bear in mind that pigment lost through laser surgery has different mechanisms to pigment lost through other trauma (according to Borecs findings, the melanocytes are there but 'switched off'.) The edges of my whitened area have crept in a few mm making the hypopigmented area half the size, which is significant for me. but for a wider area a few mm might not be so pleasing. But, if i had recell again and got another few mm of pigment, that would be it all repigmented, and then my answer would be an easy YES!
Borec, could you give me contact info for doctors that you have please? I emailed Avita Europe asking for doctors and they didn't get back to me after a week. Avita America got back to me in one day, though they just said to travel to Europe. I'm wondering if the Europe guys are just ignoring me.
Jeremy Rawlins - SkinFX Clinic Glascow http://skinfxclinics.com/contact-us/
Dr Maini http://www.zenithcosmeticclinics.co.uk/index.php/our-team/
Dr Khan http://www.harleystreetskinclinic.com/
There are more but I am at work at the mo.
I think there is a post by another forum user that lists even more surgeons although Jeremy was not on that list.