Published: 2:58AM Thursday November 12, 2009
Source: AAP
Source:
A team of Melbourne scientists has developed a world-first
surgical technique that may allow women who have undergone
mastectomy to regrow their breasts.
Five women will undergo the experimental surgery at St Vincent's
Hospital within weeks to test the procedure, the Herald Sun
newspaper reports.
Scientists from the Bernard O'Brien Institute of Microsurgery will
use the technique, known as Neopec, to implant a woman's own fat
cells in an artificial, breast-shaped chamber in her chest.
The cells will quickly multiply and, if successful, are shaped in
the chamber to replace the breast tissue the woman lost.
The surgery could replace breast reconstruction and the use of
implants following mastectomy, the newspaper said.
Bernard O'Brien director Professor Wayne Morrison said Neopec was a
big step forward but it might be 10 years before it could be used
for cosmetic purposes.
Neopec has been trialled successfully in pigs, and might allow
women to regrow breasts within months.
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