Posted on 11/12/2009 7:39:18 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Implants could soon be a thing of the past. Researchers have developed a new technique to regrow breasts on pigs using their own tissue — and it's ready to be tested on human mastectomy patients.
Phillip Marzella from the Bernard O'Brien Institute of Microsurgery is part of the team that developed Neopec, the new stem cell technique for regrowing breast tissue. The researchers implant a chamber containing some of the individual's own fat tissue under the skin. The chamber is connected to the individual's blood vessels, and fat then grows to fill the chamber, creating a new breast. The chamber itself degrades naturally over time.
Marzella's team has had success with Neopec in pig trials, with the pigs growing new breasts in just six weeks. In the next three to six months, they plan to start a human trial on women who have had partial or total mastectomies. Marzella says that he hopes the technique will someday alleviate at least one aspect of the breast cancer diagnosis, and says that while Neopec might have some cosmetic applications down the road, he doesn't see it being used for cosmetic purposes in the next 10 years.
Related Topic :
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/6548802/Australian-scientists-to-start-breast-regrowth-trial.html
By Bonnie Malkin in Sydney
Australian scientists to start ‘breast regrowth’ trial
Scientists in Australia are preparing to begin trials of a revolutionary surgery that could enable cancer victims to regrow their breasts after undergoing a mastectomy.
It is hoped that if successful, the experimental stem cell breast-growing technique - called Neopec - could replace breast reconstructions and implants within three years.
Dr Phillip Marzella from the Bernard O’Brien Institute of Microsurgery in Melbourne, said a prototype trial of five to six women would start in the next three to six months “to demonstrate that the body can regrow its own fat supply in the breast”.
During the world-first trial surgeons will implant a chamber containing a sample of the woman’s fat tissue into the chest, which will act a “scaffolding” into which new breast tissue will grow.
“What we are hoping to do in the next two years is develop a biodegradable chamber so that the fat can grow inside the chamber and then the chamber will vanish naturally,” Dr Marzella said.
“Nature abhors a vacuum, so the chamber itself, because it is empty, it tends to be filled in by the body.”
Dr Marzella said the new breasts would feel normal to the patient.
The trial is believed to be just the second time in the world tissue engineering has been carried out in a human.
Prof Wayne Morrison, a Bernard O’Brien director, said using the stem cells from the patient’s own fat to regenerate body parts was a huge advancement on current techniques, which try to repair or cover-up damage.
The regrowth process involves surgeons implanting a biodegradable synthetic breast-shaped chamber beneath the skin.
They then connect a blood vessel from the woman’s underarm to the fat tissue allowing it to grow to fill the chamber within six to eight months.
The fat tissue stops growing when it reaches the chamber walls to ensure the desired shape and size.
The technique has already been proved in pigs, which grew new breasts in just six weeks.
Dr Marzella said the process could take longer in women because humans stop growing at adolescence.
However, his team has already developed a dissolvable gel to stimulates fat growth in the chamber and speed up the formation of the new breast.
Dr Marzella said the technique could also be used to regrow other organs.
“We are hoping to move on to other organs using the same principle - a chamber that protects and contains cells as they grow and they restore their normal function.
“So it is a pretty major leap for regenerative surgery and medicine.”
He said the procedure could replace breast reconstructions and implants within three years if it works.
“Certainly it doesn’t relieve [patients] of the trauma of the cancer but certainly it could be offering patients an alternative and some sort of relief from the diagnosis of breast cancer to know that they can regrow the breast.”
The procedure also has potential in reconstructive therapy for defects in the future, but Dr Marzella said he did not envisage it being used for cosmetic purposes in the next 10 years.
All of the women taking part in the trial have had a mastectomy or partial mastectomy. The trial will not seek to grow a whole breast, but grow fat in the defected area to prove the procedure is viable.
Breast cancer is the most common form of the disease among women worldwide and the leading cause of female cancer fatalities.
In less than 10 months this process will be in widespread use in every part of the globe.
I’m all for breasts!
How long does it take? I hope they can grow new ones before the patient goes tits up.
So can it be used for breast enlargement instead of the implants?
WOW
I understand the intent, seems there would be a large market for naturally growing vs putting an implant in.
Any word about growing new prostrates yet?
I don’t see how you can “regrow” a breast that has been removed. That would be a growing a new breast.
I wish they could grow new ones, and ones they like better than their original ones. They deserve it after what they have been through.
Man, if I could grow a pair of breasts, I’d never leave the house. I’d spend the entire day in front of a mirror topless.
They should use a percentage of the funds from each cosmetic procedure to fund replacement for cancer patients. It’s a win win for everyone, especially us guys :-)
It says a pig grew a new breast in 6 weeks. I don’t think I should touch that.
Extremely tacky since we’re talking about cancer patients here.
"Sure. Who doesn't like t*ts?"
Can testiculectomy patients regrow their own... ? How about penilectomy ..?
What is in the chamber? Air? Saline solution??
I wonder what would cause the tissue to know when to stop growing. Yikes!
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