Erase those laugh lines — with your own skin cells

Maybe you're iffy on the idea of using a facial filler like Restalyne or Juvederm. But what if the stuff that was erasing your wrinkles came from your own skin?

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That's the idea behind laViv, the first cellular therapy to remove laugh lines to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Your skin's fibroblast cells produce collagen — the body's homegrown, natural filler. Using the laViv therapy, doctors remove a tiny bit of skin from behind the ear — it's important to grab a piece that isnt exposed to the sun, Dr. Julio Gallo of the Miami Institute explained to WTVJ's Diana Gonzalez. The sample is then shipped to the fibrocell science lab.

There, “your own skin cells are processed and grown and multipled," Gallo says. The lab will send the patient's cells back in three months, and Gallo will then inject the cells into the patient's face. "We're actually using live cellular tissue, so it’s not only a filling, but it’s also a tissue regeneration.” The patient's laugh lines will be injected once a month for three months.

Heather Davis, a 49-year-old Miami model, has tried facial fillers before, but she decided to undergo laViv therapy because she was excited about the idea of using her own skin cells for the treatment.

"I'm really excited to see how this is going to progress and the results that I'm going to have," Davis says.

Would you be more comfortable using a facial filler that used your own skin cells to remove wrinkles? Tell us why — or why not — on our Facebook page.

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