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Traditionally, breast cancer patients haven’t had many good options for post-mastectomy breast reconstruction.
Many recovering patients are wary of the most popular form of breast augmentation: The saline, silicone, or gel breast implant. Although plastic surgeons strive to make implants as safe as possible, health concerns remain - specially for recovering cancer patients with compromised immune systems.
Many patients who could benefit from breast reconstruction don’t even bother with breast augmentation information, because implants can interfere with mammograms. Fortunately, researchers are now getting promising results from a much less invasive procedure that uses stem cells to re-grow breast tissue.
In this new procedure, the patients’ own fat cells are mixed with a growth factor added to stem cells harvested from abdominal liposuction. The mixture is then inserted in a biodegradable cavity in the breast, and a blood source is added. If all goes well, in six-to-12 months the new tissue grows into the shape of a breast. This procedure is one of the most requested form of liposuction in America.
According to the article of Liposuctioncost.com, Abdominal Liposuction: Is it Right for You? (www.liposuctioncost.com/body-areas-abdominal-or-abdomen-liposuction), patients with infections, heart disease or diabetes should not take this form of surgery cause it could interfere the recovery process of the patient.
Avoiding the alleged health issues associated with implants is a step forward for breast cancer patients, but the stem cell procedure does have its own set of risks.
When placed near active cancer cells, the growth factor mixed with stem cells can re-stimulate the cancer cells, causing them to grow rapidly. In a patient whose cancer is completely removed or completely in remission, cancer cells are not re-stimulated and the process is thought to be safe.
The patient would need to be monitored closely to make sure new cancer cells are not forming, and the long-term effects of the growth factor need to be studied.
Extensive testing will be required before stem cell treatment appears in the regular catalogue of breast augmentation information for cancer patients, but plastic surgeons, oncologists, and researchers are hopeful about this new treatment.
The treatment also has enormous potential as a purely cosmetic surgery, and could end the debate over whether implants are risky by making them obsolete.
Cosmetic breast enhancement using stem cells and the patient’s own body fat is already available from some plastic surgeons. Any healthy person is a candidate for this type of breast augmentation, and patients generally report quick recovery times and high levels of satisfaction with their new breasts.
The procedure is fairly simple, and the results are much more natural looking than traditional implants. Plus, the patient’s fat is usually harvested from her stomach or thighs, resulting in weight loss in those areas.
Since this is a new procedure, no information is available on its long-term safety or effectiveness, but the future looks bright for stem cell breast augmentation. Read All Natural: Why Breasts Are the Key to the Future of Regenerative Medicine (www.wired.com/magazine/2010/10/ff_futureofbreasts/all/1) of Wired.com.
Traditionally, breast cancer patients haven’t had many good options for post-mastectomy breast reconstruction.
Many recovering patients are wary of the most popular form of breast augmentation: The saline, silicone, or gel breast implant. Although plastic surgeons strive to make implants as safe as possible, health concerns remain - specially for recovering cancer patients with compromised immune systems.
Many patients who could benefit from breast reconstruction don’t even bother with breast augmentation information, because implants can interfere with mammograms. Fortunately, researchers are now getting promising results from a much less invasive procedure that uses stem cells to re-grow breast tissue.
In this new procedure, the patients’ own fat cells are mixed with a growth factor added to stem cells harvested from abdominal liposuction. The mixture is then inserted in a biodegradable cavity in the breast, and a blood source is added. If all goes well, in six-to-12 months the new tissue grows into the shape of a breast. This procedure is one of the most requested form of liposuction in America.
According to the article of Liposuctioncost.com, Abdominal Liposuction: Is it Right for You? (www.liposuctioncost.com/body-areas-abdominal-or-abdomen-liposuction), patients with infections, heart disease or diabetes should not take this form of surgery cause it could interfere the recovery process of the patient.
Avoiding the alleged health issues associated with implants is a step forward for breast cancer patients, but the stem cell procedure does have its own set of risks.
When placed near active cancer cells, the growth factor mixed with stem cells can re-stimulate the cancer cells, causing them to grow rapidly. In a patient whose cancer is completely removed or completely in remission, cancer cells are not re-stimulated and the process is thought to be safe.
The patient would need to be monitored closely to make sure new cancer cells are not forming, and the long-term effects of the growth factor need to be studied.
Extensive testing will be required before stem cell treatment appears in the regular catalogue of breast augmentation information for cancer patients, but plastic surgeons, oncologists, and researchers are hopeful about this new treatment.
The treatment also has enormous potential as a purely cosmetic surgery, and could end the debate over whether implants are risky by making them obsolete.
Cosmetic breast enhancement using stem cells and the patient’s own body fat is already available from some plastic surgeons. Any healthy person is a candidate for this type of breast augmentation, and patients generally report quick recovery times and high levels of satisfaction with their new breasts.
The procedure is fairly simple, and the results are much more natural looking than traditional implants. Plus, the patient’s fat is usually harvested from her stomach or thighs, resulting in weight loss in those areas.
Since this is a new procedure, no information is available on its long-term safety or effectiveness, but the future looks bright for stem cell breast augmentation. Read All Natural: Why Breasts Are the Key to the Future of Regenerative Medicine (www.wired.com/magazine/2010/10/ff_futureofbreasts/all/1) of Wired.com.
