GERMANY:
Are the years of breast prosthesis numbered?
 

We unofficially found out that research on own fat cell breeding is well advanced. The animal experimenting phase delivered positive results. Clinical experiments are likely to be taken up even this year by a European group of young scientists who have received € 2.500 000 from the European Union to finance their research.

The biggest breakthrough is expected in breast enlargement. This is unlikely to go very fast; the problem of calcification around the transplanted fat cells has to be resolved. During a mammogram these fat cells become visible as white dots. Exactly the same happens around a breast cancer lump. This could be a source of diagnostic confusion. We will have to be able to produce significant amounts of own fat; the production costs of own fat breeding will have to be affordable. Yet our hope remains: only years, not decades, will pass until we will replace the current breast prostheses as those did, sooner or later, bring about problems.

Dennis von Heimburg, MD, PhD, is a young scientist and plastic surgeon from Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle). On the following world congress for plastic surgery in Sydney on August, 15, 2003, he is going to give a talk - in the name of the European group of scientists who were mentioned above - on their latest research results. His contribution for us carries the same title as the one on the world congress:

Currently there is no adequate implant material for the correction of soft tissue defects such as after tumour resection and in hereditary and congenital defects. Among the various approaches are local and free flaps, dermal fat grafts, collagen injections, the use of synthetic materials and free adipose tissue grafts. Every method shows considerable disadvantages. A bio hybrid composed of viable adipocyte-precursor cells and an optimised matrix could help towards a solution. Since it is known that hyaluronan initiates and controls regeneration in mesenchymal tissues, designed hyaluronan based carriers seeded with dedifferentiated autologous preadipocytes are potential soft tissue fillers.

In an European study group on adipose tissue regeneration (5th framework program) hyaluronan matrices with autologous preadipocytes were investigated with regards to optimisation of proliferation and differentiation after transplantation. The preliminary results are encouraging. The process of isolation of these precursor cells out of adult human adipose tissue, and the influence of different growth factors and media on the proliferation and differentiation capacities were optimised. The transplantation of isolated and cultured preadipocytes within a standardised hyaluronan matrix resulted in small volumes of well vascularised adipose-like tissue. It was shown that highly proliferative preadipocytes have a significantly lower oxygen consumption than mature adipocytes. These advantages offer the development of innovative transplants. Tissue-engineered adipose tissue offers a new solution to correct congenital, idiopathic, or traumatic soft tissue defects in all areas of the body without creating a major donor defect.
 

USA:

Breast prosthesis for enlargement - will tissue engineering make it the thing of the past