Bio-breasts - Stem Cells and Cosmetic Surgery
Silicone breast implants and Botox could soon become things of the past! Scientists in Japan and Europe are already growing fully functional breasts from stem cells.
Kotaro Yoshimura, a surgeon at the Tokyo University medical school, first tested this procedure in 2003. He started with a liposuction procedure to obtain fat from the woman’s thigh. Half of the fat was centrifuged to yield a concentrated stem-cell mixture, and this was recombined with the other half, and was then injected through a needle at four sites on the breast. The entire breast surgery took three to four hours.
Stem cells can divide into any of the 300 types of specialized cells in a human body. They are found in both adults and children but those taken from embryos which are only a few days old are often more flexible to work with. These cells have the potential to develop cell-based therapies for repair and replacement of tissues damaged by fractures, burns, and other injuries. They also offer hope for the treatment of diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, cardiac failure and Parkinson’s disease.
Stem cells for cosmetic surgery
In 2006, researchers in Australia grew a complete, functioning breast from a single stem cell. The experiment was performed on a mouse but experts knew it would not be long before it happened in humans too. In August 2008, Dr Yoshimura reconstructed a 51-year-old lady’s left breast by injecting fat and stem-cells derived from the woman’s own body. Dr Yoshimura claims to have performed about 200 such ‘cell-assisted liposuction’ procedures since 2003, out of Cellport Clinic in Yokohama.
At Seishin Cosmetic Clinic in Tokyo and Kyushu Central Hospital in Fukuoka, surgeons use stem cells processed by a machine developed by a San Diego company, Cytori Therapeutics Inc. This automation might make fat transplantation easier, faster, and more predictable. Some hospitals in Israel, Europe and Japan are already using this machine. Human tests have in fact already started in Europe. However, the technique is yet to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The magic of stem cells
Silicone and saline implants for breast surgery are likely to rupture, leak, and interfere with breast cancer detection on mammography. Stem-cell generated implants are expected to do away with such complications. This technique can also help enhance breasts while slimming down the thighs. It could help create soft, natural looking breasts in a less invasive way. Breast reconstruction with stem cells could be of particular benefit for cancer patients who have undergone mastectomy. Radiotherapy shrivels up the blood vessels, and normal fat grafts shrink and wither away because of lack of blood supply. The supercharged grafts contain stem cells that help regenerate blood vessels and thus prevent shrinkage.
Continue to next page: More Research Needed
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