MIAMI (WTVJ/NBC) - It is widely known that stem cells can be used in life-saving treatments for deadly diseases.

Now they are being used in the fight against wrinkles.

Donna Pritchit recently had a "stem cell" makeover.

The 64-year-old headed into the operating room wanting to turn back the hands of time without it being totally obvious.

"I don't want someone to stop and go by and say Oh, she had a facelift.' I want to have someone say Donna went on vacation she must be having a great life,'" she said before the $5,000 procedure began.

Dr. Sharon McQuillan at the Ageless Institute in Aventura, FL marked the areas where she would take fat out of Pritchit's belly - and place it back into her face.

The retired teacher also hoped it would be her last step in getting rid of embarrassing acne scars.

The outpatient procedure began with traditional liposuction, and then McQuillan and her team processed that fat and concentrated the stem cells so they could be injected into Pritchit's wrinkles and in places where she has lost fullness.

"Stem cells in general are the cells in your body that regenerate tissue and heal tissue, and they make the skin look beautiful and younger," McQuillan explained.

While there are not many long-term studies on the procedure, McQuillan said the results are permanent.

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Stem cell 'makeovers' provide a way to get rid of wrinkles