New Aging Treatment Doesn't Involve Fillers

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Baltimore Doctor Helped Develop La Viv

BALTIMORE -- A new treatment developed in part by a Baltimore doctor can make people look years younger without using injection fillers such as Restalyne or Juvederm.

 

La Viv uses the body's own cells to fill in the lines that come with aging.

 

Seven years ago, Janet David was in her 50s and wanted to look her best for her daughters' weddings.

 

"I'm very allergic, so I'm a bit leery of fillers and Botox and all these other treatments," she said.

 

To get rid of her smile lines, Hunt Valley dermatologist Dr. Robert Weiss suggested a clinical trial for what's now known as La Viv.

 

"The indication is that it actually works. We did clinical trials on acne scars, on fine lines around the eyes. It's kind of like a rejuvenation therapy," Weiss explained.The difference with La Viv is that it uses the patient's own cells to complete the transformation. Doctors take skin from behind the patient's ear and send it to a lab where it grows over weeks or months.

 

"What happens is they get revved-up, and then you inject them back into the skin. Here, you have these revved up cells that now remodel your own skin and create your own collagen," Weiss said. He said there's no recovery time and patients in clinical trials saw visible results, on average, in about two months.

 

The one drawback could be the cost. One round, which consists of three separate treatments, could cost more than $4,000, Weiss said. Also, it doesn't work as well for people who smoke or are over 65 because their collagen doesn't regenerate well.

 

But for David, it was well worth the investment."Everybody wants to look better," she said. "There are certainly all kinds of problems when you go under the knife. If this can make us look a little bit younger, I think it's great."

 

She said she's still pleased with the results seven years later.

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