How Inno Sotto and Kim Atienza found relief for their bodily pains

MANILA, Philippines - There’s something not too many people may know about celebrated fashion designer Inno Sotto. When he was about seven years old, he fell from a chair — “out of mischief,” he relates — and broke his right arm. It was set in a cast for six months, but the bones were not aligned so that even now, he is unable to fully stretch out his arm. But it’s something one would hardly notice. “It did not bother me,” Inno says.

Last month, while rushing home, he missed a step. He used his palms to break the fall, “so I don’t fall flat on my face,” Inno relates. His right elbow suffered much pressure, but there was no crack or fracture. “It was lucky for me, despite the fact that I am old,” he says candidly.

It helped that he’s had stem cell therapy mainly for the joints on his shoulders, elbows, and knees.

He first came to the clinic two years ago. This time, he was at the Stem Care Institute for another stem cell therapy session.

 “I belong in a field that has something to do with image,” he remarks.

He leaves the clinic feeling good, feeling young. “I feel confident about myself when I face younger clients. I used to make for their mothers and grandmothers. Now, I make for the daughters,” Inno shares. “That’s why I come here. I have no qualms about it. It has helped me in the past and I am sure, it will help me in the next years as I go about my business.”

 “Aging is something we cannot help,” says TV host and anchor Kuya Kim Atienza. “Aches and pains come with age, especially for those active in sports.”

Kuya Kim is 48 years old, a triathlete and an active promoter of the sport.  He was recently diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder called Guillian-Barre, which causes muscle atrophy, particularly on the legs, arms, and face. He was at the clinic early that day for stem cell treatment to help strengthen his knee joints.

Stem cells are the body’s “natural healing cells.” Dr. Charlie Poblete explains, “Stem cells can differentiate or transform into the damaged cells which they come in contact with, and help in their repair and regeneration.” Dr. Poblete, who trained in the US, is the first orthopedic stem cell surgeon in the country.  He heads the orthopedic department of the Stem Care Institute, which is a partner of the leading stem cell facility in the US, the California Stem Cell Treatment Centre.

The Stem Care Institute at Burgos Circle in Bonifacio Global City is a state-of-the-art center for pain and regenerative medicine. It is currently focused on the efficacy of stem cells to perform regenerative medicine and orthopedics to alleviate bodily pains associated with cartilage degeneration, chronic joint ailments, osteoarthritis, and other degenerative orthopedic conditions as well as sports injuries.

“We want to make this accessible to more people,” says Dr. Z Teo, the driving force behind the Stem Care Institute, together with his wife, prominent dermatologist Dr. Aivee Aguilar-Teo. Many of those who suffer from backaches or joint pains, for example, either take a lot of painkillers or undergo surgery. “But they don’t have to swing from one end to the other,” says Dr. Z. “There is a middle ground. It’s something not a lot of people know. Pain is not an option.”

 “For an orthopedic surgeon, there is this traditional thinking that everything can be solved by surgery. An orthopedic procedure is basically a correction of a mechanical malalignment,” Dr. Poblete explains. “The body is thought to be a machine and treatment is mechanical, through surgery, which is invasive. But 92.2% of patients who come to my clinic do not want to undergo surgery.”

“Medicine today looks at the body on the molecular and cellular level.  Stem cell is not alternative medicine. Stem cell is modern medicine,” stresses Dr. Poblete.  Orthopedic research has long been engaged in the study of the extensive potential of stem cell therapy in healing a multitude of bone, cartilage, and joint ailments. “It is the basis of our specialty, which is molecular orthopedics,” says Dr. Poblete.

 “It is the new era of medicine,” says Dr. Jae W. Pak, one of Korea’s premier orthopedic stem cell surgeons and a visiting expert consultant of the Stem Care Institute. A published expert in the field, he has had wide experience in the effective use of adipose stem cells in regenerative medicine and pain management.

Autologous stem cells (meaning, from the patient’s body) are extracted from the patient’s own fat, also known as adipose-derived stem cells (ADSC).

“It’s a simple procedure,” Dr. Pak explains. A certain amount of fat is manually aspirated from areas like the tummy or thighs. This is processed in a closed automated machine that separates the fat from the stem cells, which are then activated and injected into the joints, which benefits from its restorative and regenerative function.

Dr.  Pak’s oldest patient is an 81-year-old Korean woman who suffered from severe knee pain. She was given steroids, but this is only symptomatic treatment, Dr. Pak shares. She needed knee reconstruction but with her advanced age, surgery was not advisable. Instead, she underwent stem cell therapy. That was three years ago. The last time Dr. Pak saw her was last December, still active and able to do simple housework.

Fat Stem Cell Repair (FSCR) has been proven to be particularly effective in improving painful joints as well as repairing thinning cartilages and ligaments.

Most older patients who come to the center seek treatment for knee and hip ailments while younger patients often suffer from tendonitis, Dr. Poblete shares. Other problem areas include the shoulders, elbows, 1,000 joints with a high 90 to 100-percent success rate.

Platelet rich plasma or PRP therapy is also done after two months to help accelerate the healing process, Dr. Poblete adds.  “PRP is rich in growth factors. It can potentially increase the number of stem cells injected; stimulate differentiation of stem cells in the cartilage; stimulate surrounding tissue to grow or strengthen; and provide scaffolds for stem cells to attach and grow.” Athletes, like Tiger Woods, have undergone PRP therapy, which is an emerging treatment in a new health sector known as Orthobiologics.

Kuya Kim was pleasantly surprised to find that the fat stem cell therapy, which he underwent, was not at all painful as he expected. “In a scale of 1 to 10, I would put the pain level at 3,” he says. “It’s just like a mini-liposuction.” There is no downtime. After the procedure, which took less than two hours, he had more than enough time to proceed to his noontime TV show and a pictorial afterwards.  His fully packed day would end with dinner with his wife and kids.  His daily routine of swimming at the Polo Club was not interrupted, and after a week, it was back to biking and running. “I want to be able to run until I am 70 years old,” he says.

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For inquiries, call StemCare at 4033245, 4031982, 09209665613, 09175210222.Visit www.stemcareinstitute.com.