Plastic surgeons at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston are experimenting with this technique in hopes that it will have fewer risks than current methods of breast reconstruction following a mastectomy. It dissolves within two to three months as body tissue, including fat cells, fills in the area. Chemicals known as growth factors are added to the cells to help generate more fat tissue.
Growth factors stimulate cells to multiply and mature.
Dr. Eser Yuksel, a Baylor plastic surgeon who is studying this technique in animals, said this approach could have several advantages. But there's a risk of tissue scarring, and it is difficult to restore the volume, shape, size, texture and blood supply of a normal breast. Because the new approach relies on the body to generate its own tissue, scarring should not be a problem, and the breast should look and feel normal, Yuksel said. So far the researchers have been able to grow the fat cells, but further studies are needed to observe whether the cells fill out the scaffolding as expected. Other Baylor researchers working with Yuksel on this study are Brad Ray, Adam Weinfeld, and Drs.