Fat-derived stem cells can grow new breasts

Wednesday July 11, 2007 ins: Breast Enhancement Tag(s):

Technorati Tags: breast enhancement, mastectomy, stem cell

It has been a practice in cosmetic surgery for quite some time now to use fat grafting techniques in order to enlarge the size of the breasts naturally. The most common practice of breast enlargement is basically to employ breast implants such as saline and silicone. But due to certain drawbacks of breast implants, a natural breast implant in the form of fat taken from the other areas of the body such as buttocks or the tummy is being considered.

However, reconstructing the breast using fat alone often fails considering that more often than not, the fat is just reabsorbed into the body. In order to avoid this, physicians use fat-derived stem cells.

Scientists say that stem cells emit signals that encourage blood vessels to grow and nurture new tissue. They are not exactly sure how it works but that’s the best conclusion they could come up with based on their tests. What they are sure of though is that a fat mixture with concentrated stem cells injected into the breast encourages tissue to grow.

The therapy, detailed in Chemistry and Industry Magazine, could help cancer patients who underwent mastectomies restore their breasts. If licensed, this may give silicone and saline implants a run for their money.

The procedure, called Celution, could be carried out in just an hour. The surgeon basically gets fat from the stomach, bottom, or thigh using a standard liposuction procedure. The stem cells are then extracted and placed into a cartridge for injection one hour later. Surgeons say results will be visible after six months as the breasts then fill out over that period.

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons treats the research as a positive development for medical science but doubts whether it would provide any immediate results in cosmetic surgery.

“We need to find out how these cells work once they are in the breast before any great claims can be made, “ says Rajiv Grover of BAAPS.

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