Growing Breast Implants Using Stem-Cell Techniques
Are silicone breast implants a thing of the past? According to some, they just may be. Jeremy Mao, professor of tissue engineering at the University of Illinois in Chicago, is the pioneer of a revolutionary technique that will allow women to grow their own breast implants.
Mao has developed a technique to grow human fat cells found in breast tissue by isolating a patient’s stem cells and culturing them into a mass of fatty tissue. The implant is then built by mixing the fatty tissue with hydrogel, a lightweight material that can be molded into any shape. The mixture is then formed around a scaffold of the desired breast size and shape to create the implant.
The method was originally designed for cancer patients in need of reconstructive surgery; however, Mao predicts that it is only a matter of time before the technique is used for cosmetic purposes as well.
Despite recent advancements in silicone and saline implants, durability concerns remain prevalent among doctors and patients. Mao argues implants made from human fat cells will not wear out or rupture, and will therefore be at the forefront of the future of the breast implant industry.
According to Mao, growing breast implants only scratches the surface of what the new stem-cell technique is capable of accomplishing.
“The technique is also applicable for other soft tissue, including facial tissue such as the lips,” said Mao. “Patients will have a choice - a stem cell grown structure or an artificial implant.”
There are still some problems that researchers are working to resolve. For instance, they are trying to figure out how to keep the tissue alive once it is formed into an implant while at the same time, ensuring the live cells do not replicate once the procedure is completed.
Although use of the technique is in its infancy and there are still some unresolved problems, researchers are hopeful that doctors will eventually be able to use the same method to grow replacement organs which can be used in transplant surgery. Because the organs will be grown by the patients’ own cells, the chance of rejection will be eliminated.
