The proverbial Fountain of Youth may have found a home in Tualatin.
In June Dr. Roberta Huang opened Lumera Regenerative Medicine, which focuses on hormone imbalance in the body that can cause fatigue, weight gain, mood changes and low libido. The medical office/spa offers skincare, including micro-needling with PRP (platelet-rich plasma) that stimulates collagen production, laser treatments, Botox and fillers, and several treatments for sexual wellness.
After spending more than 20 years as an obstetrician/gynecologist, Dr. Huang grew frustrated at the normal 15-minute time limit for patient visits, knowing that wasn’t enough time to get to the heart of her patients’ issues.
“In short visits, you just can’t cover everything,” she said. “People like having extra time to talk about deeper issues. This is our opportunity to do a deeper dive.
“I actually started with sexual enhancement and then fell into the hormone side of medicine. A lot of people don’t realize that there are many options available to help with sexual issues. That’s how we hope to brand ourselves. And hormones are especially helpful with menopause and peri-menopause.”
Dr. Huang is one of two providers in Oregon who used the “diVa™ laser” that rejuvenates the vagina and helps with incontinence, vaginal laxity and lubrication, and she has an Emsella™ chair that uses magnetic energy to exercise the pelvic floor to help with sexual arousal and incontinence.
Another technique to foster more sexual sensitivity involves drawing blood and spinning it in a centrifuge to produce PRP that is re-injected into sexual organs. Wherever PRP is injected into the body, the body starts healing that area.
“We call it the P-Shot™ for men and O-Shot™ for women, and there is minimal discomfort,” Dr. Huang said. “It works, but insurance doesn’t pay for it. The beauty of these things is that they are minimally invasive and don’t require surgery.”
A different technique involves placing pellets under the skin that slowly release hormones over four months for women and over five months for men. Post-menopausal women who have not had breast cancer receive a mixture of estrogen and testosterone that “can really help through those rough years,” Dr. Huang said. “I have seen women in their 60s and 70s who are still having hot flashes.”
In addition to treating sexual dysfunction, Lumera has two advanced aestheticians whose techniques include using lasers on the skin to rejuvenate it.
And coming in December, Lumera will be the first place in the Portland area to offer the cutting-age and non-invasive Emsculpt Neo™ treatment, which combines magnetic energy and radio frequency to build muscle and reduce fat by up to 30 percent. “It is going to become the new paradigm for body sculpting,” De. Huang said.
She noted that Lumera Regenerative Medicine’s staff is made up of certified practitioners who have been trained in the various procedures and treatments.
“I have so many interests,” Dr. Huang said. “But the pillars of well-being are a good diet, exercise and getting enough sleep plus having a healthy psyche that includes good social interaction.
“I believe in helping the body to heal itself, and there are techniques and advanced procedures that can help. I’m very honest with my patients, and I tell them that change is accumulative and takes place over time.”
The majority of Lumera’s patients are female because in general they are more motivated to do self-care and are up-to-date on check-ups and preventative measures, according to Dr. Huang. She insists that new patients’ medical care is current before she starts treating them.
In the first three months Lumera was open, two women came in who needed to get their mammograms, which Dr. Huang insisted they have. “Both went on to get diagnosed with breast cancer,” she said. “I’m glad we did it by the book.”
Dr. Huang said she ended up opening her office in Tualatin by chance. When she first moved to Portland, she worked at Kaiser Permanente-Sunnyside Medical Center before going out on her own and looking all over the metro area for office space. Through a real estate connection, “we found this office space pretty quickly,” she said. “We are a hybrid spa/medical office. We love our location, and we did extensive remodeling to create a clean and peaceful vibe.”
Dr. Huang was born in New York City and lived in a lot of different places as her family moved around, noting, “I went to five different elementary schools and two different high schools.” Back in New York, she attended Columbia College, went to medical school at New York University and did her OB/GYN residency at Columbia-Presbyterian, graduating in 2000.
She worked in obstetrics/gynecology for 24 years, first in Brooklyn for two years followed by two more years in Manhattan before moving to Seattle to work. She and her husband had visited Portland and really liked the area and the climate, so they moved here in 2016, where Dr. Huang worked at Kaiser until April of this year.
Outside of medicine, she enjoys gardening, painting, listening to and playing music, preparing memorable meals for family and friends, and enjoying the splendor of the Pacific Northwest outdoors with her family.
Lumera Regenerative Medicine is located at 6464 SW Borland Road, Suite C3, in Tualatin. For more information, visit lumeramedical.com or call (503) 852-9680.
