There is quite a lot of interest in the stem cell treatment that Italian plastic surgeon, Dr Casabona, is offering. Patients are sharing their experiences on an Italian forum. WLSS is getting a lot of enquiries about the treatment and is in the process building this page and gathering information but in the meantime. You may comment below, ask questions and interact with others who have either had the treatment or are thinking about it.
Use this link to read the published article about the treatment.
Listen to Dr Casabona’s talk on 18 June 2011 Birmingham UK
This is one woman’s very positive experience of having the treatment and WLSS is very grateful for her kind generosity in sharing here for others.
Hi to everyone, and here is my story of the therapy received from Dr Casabona in the hope that it can be of use to others considering the possibility of following the same route. I am 64 years old. I am writing from Italy where I live and where this new treatment has been perfected which is giving hope to dozens of women from Italy and now abroad too. At the beginning of December 2010 Fabia asked me to check out the Italian support group, which was new at the time. I went into their site and discovered that the big news was a specialist in Genoa, Dr Francesco Casabona, who is part of a Plastic Surgery Unit at Villa Scassi Hospital in Genoa. His is a multidisciplinary approach. He collaborates with the blood transfusion centre in the hospital and with gynaecologists and other specialists such as a psychologist, on this new technique which has won him an award in Paris and has been published in the American Journal of Plastic Surgery (article available on line in English under LS stem cell treatment therapy.) More recently the technique has been presented at an Open Day for people suffering from LS in the UK organised by Fabia in Birmingham in June this year and at a medical congress in Paris in September. He had operated over 100 cases of LS at the time I first saw him, I imagine the number has now doubled. I met Dr Casabona in December in Genoa at his private surgery where he explained his technique to me. He is a wonderful, kind and understanding person who immediately inspired me with confidence and has time to chat and listen to each patient’s story. His English is good. On Jan 21st I had the therapy, a day hospital treatment. He considered my case “mild” or possibly not even LS, despite the fact that I had been suffering for 9 years and had had a diagnosis of LS from 4 dermatologists and was quite desperate and very tired of using Protopic twice daily. I knew perfectly well that Protopic could have negative effects but it was the only thing that worked for me and allowed me to live a fairly normal life so it was a calculated risk. Dr Casabona has since told a number of post-menopausal women that he does not consider their cases LS – it seems he divides cases into the more devastating type of disease which strikes younger people and the situation he found in my case and several others of the people consulting him from abroad, a kind of post-menopausal deterioration of the part. He told me that he had had good results on similar cases to my own which inspired me to go ahead. He thought that for my specific case the basic treatment could be used on me, taking blood samples at the transfusion centre (my own blood) and treating the blood with PRP to form platelet-rich plasma which is then injected into the part. About six injections of anaesthetic are given and these are much like a visit to the dentist. After that the therapy is totally painless and while the part looks and feels “bee-stung” – lovely term which was coined by another person who has had the treatment, it describes it perfectly.
The treatment can be repeated after 3 months if a total disappearance of symptoms is not achieved. Otherwise, depending on the gravity of the case, Dr C also combines this treatment with the taking of a sample of adipose tissue from the abdomen and/or knee. This is then treated and injected into the part too. About 6 injections are given to anaesthetize the part and then you feel nothing. The whole thing takes about 15 mins in the operating theatre, the team are charming and benefit starts after about 6 days. The situation continued to improve over the next 2 and a half months. I had about a 75% improvement with marked reduction of itching and burning using only a soothing gel recommended by Dr C on the part. I was back teaching the day after the therapy so it was not incapacitating. I was also told I could continue using my own regime of treatment as I awaited results but it was not necessary. In May I had a second therapy, again only PRP and not with adipose tissue in an attempt to improve the situation still further. I think I can now say I have a 90% – 95% improvement while there are days when I feel a total absence of the itching and burning which were part of my world. My feeling is that I could have got to 100% but chose to spend the summer in Greece with daily swims and too much heat so I had some discomfort in August. Since I returned in September there has been a continued improvement and at the moment I would say the situation is stable and much better than I ever dared hope for! The skin of the vulva has returned to its original state – pink and plump and healthy looking – the result of the process of regeneration with the new cells. I had forgotten what it looked like!
I should mention one more point: as I live in Italy and am only a couple of hours’ drive from Genoa Dr C knows he can see me easily and frequently and so it is quite probable that the timing and frequency of the therapy is based on this knowledge that it is not difficult for me to reach him, have check-ups etc. He has always been there for me, readily available on the phone and for appointments whenever I asked.
Do hope this helps and contact details are below if anyone wishes to contact Dr C - my Man of the Year.
Dr Francesco Casabona
Specialist in reconstructive and plastic surgery
PS I forgot to say that Dr C hopes in the future to pass on his technique to other doctors/surgeons who may be interested in the therapy so hopefully the therapy will be available around the world before too long….
I’ve never heard of this treatment before. Can anyone enlighten me?
Hello Helen. This is a fairly new treatment of about 3 years. It is being trialled by an Italian Plastic Surgeon, Dr Casabona. It seems that mainly Italian patients have been treated but there is an increasing number of women from the UK who are travelling to Genoa to have the treatment and they are reporting good results. The treatment is also being tried on men and they also are giving good reports.
How can an American get this cure?
So far, Dr Casabona is not promoting the treatment as a ‘cure’. There are some patients on the internet who are saying they are cured because their symptoms have cleared and their skin looks so much better but there needs to be long term trials to see how long the treatment will stay effective for.
At this time, the treatment does not seem to be available with any doctors in the USA .The treatment is available at the hosptall in Genoa, Italy. You need to contact Dr Casabona direct to arrange an appointment.to see him there.
I’ve had this treatment in Beverly Hills, CA by Dr . Nathan Newman. My first treatment was on April 1, 2011 and I had immediate relief from the constant burning I’d been experiencing for the past six years. I was about 80% better and chose to have a second treatment on July 15, 2011. I am now about 90% normal. I have only very minor symptoms.. such as minor dryness, irritation. No burning or pain. I am going to have one more treatment in Jan to try and get me to that last step in getting to normal. I have been extremely pleased with Dr. Newman. He is a very caring and patient doctor. I highly recommend his treatment.
Does anyone know if this treatment can be for other areas with LS like the breast for instance? Or have all his patience been treated down below only?
I’m desperate to find a solution for my mum to have her pain relieved.
Thanks
I understand that the treatment is only used for vulval lichen sclerosus.
I met the doctor Casabona a one year ago and I made him 3 TREATMENT (a stem cell)
as been a discovery for me ..the treatments are very good, and after a year I have not e disturb.
i’m very happy to met Dr Casabona. He help me a lot and today i am very well
if I can give some advice to those suffering from this disordeR, YOU DO THE TREATMENTS
I am seriously thinking about going to Italy to see Ddr. Casabona for the treatment, but if Dr. Newman does the same thing in LA that would be far more convenient for me since I live in NY. Can you tell me if anyone knows of a Dr. doing this same treatment closer to me?
As for Dr. Newman, did he put you to sleep for the procedure? Thanks Aggie
Is anyone performing this treatment in the UK does anyone know?
Hello Rachel. There is nobody in the UK offering this treatment at the moment. Of course, everyone here would like to have access to it but most of the UK doctors are very wary about it and it could be a long time before it arrives here and even if it does, it may take time to get it on the NHS.
I’m so interested in this. I live in Missouri and was hoping that someone knew of a doctor here. What is the cost?
how long have you had LS before using the stem cell treatments? I was diagnosed 9 months ago but probably had it much longer
I sincerely hope this treatment will come to Canada! OMG it will be a life saver. Dr. Casabona, we all love you already! Hope you have good health and teach doctors in Canada and around the world asap to help all us females who suffer and who see our lives ruined to date.
I agree I have been suffering with this disease since I was 18 and I am now 54. Right now I am in the middle of a major breakout with peeling, burning, itching and everything else. Would love to have some relief from this disease. It would be so nice to live a normal life.
I have been newly diagnosed with L.S. via skin biopsy and suffer from it all over my body. After all my research I am guessing I am probably lucky I don’t have it in the genital region, however I am MISERABLE and my dermatologist is very quick with me in my office visits (insurance restraints I guess). I have sooooooo many unanswered questions still. Like how long will I have to live on Clobestisol and Pro topic, is my liver in danger with prolonged usage, are there any holistic doctors that treat this, am I at increased risk for skin cancer even though it is not in my genital region, is there a gene test to see if I am at risk for other diseases, will my endocrinologist be a better doctor to treat me since she treats my Hashimoto’s low thyroid (another auto-immune disease), why have I been put on 3 months minimum of Doryx (a form of tetracycline that causes me great heartburn), am I at risk for more auto-immune diseases, is there a way to strengthen the immune system against this or is the goal to suppress the immune system…etc. etc. I am at a loss as to who is going to answer all these questions…
Hi! I don’t think that a recent diagnosis of LS would make any difference in terms of the stem cell therapy. The important thing would be to have an examination by Dr Casabona so he can see the extent of the damage and what would be required exactly in terms of treatment. He has now acquired sufficient experience with the many cases he has treated to know more or less what will be required. Each patient reacts differently and some people have had more relief than others. The treatment can be repeated to increase the efficacy. I have had 3 treatments now and only require a moisturizer and occasional application of Halicar to keep things feeling good. DIscomfort is minimal. I hope this helps …
I come from China.Women, aged 29 years old.
I had the disease.When I graduated from college, with this disease.
At the same time, my eye suddenly, the chin is always from the package.But I only recently go to the hospital, knowing that had the disease.Its severity.
I want to be healthy.I believe I can recover.Because when I got sick, my eyes and chin at the same time there is a problem.
Doctor, you can help me?
China’s treatment is not very advanced. I hope I can get help, so that more Chinese people happy.
I have had Lichen Schlerosus for many years – first in areas other than the genital area, ie. below the knees, back of the left hand, on both wrists, tops of feet. Then it subsided, I had used some naturopathic and holistic methods.
Then it came back to my genital area and anus, with itching and burning.
The 2 things that have helped me tremendously are:
1) low level laser treatment (I rented the machine and did daily treatments myself) – the skin colour improved and the lesions disappeared, but I had lost my clitoris and inner vaginal labia already and still cannot have vaginal sex as it is too tight. See http://bioflexlaser.com/
2) a chinese medical dr. specializing in dermatology – I take some dreadful tasting teas and they really help with colour, no burning, itching, smoother skin, no progression of symptoms.
I am going to do Dr. Casabona’s treatment in Italy, hoping it will allow me to stop spending my days, energy and money on this LS.
My best wishes go to all the sufferers of LS.