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Team to Launch Tests to Regrow Breasts
Research offers hope to breast cancer victims
By Rob Quinn
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Posted Nov 12, 09 3:59 AM CST
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(Newser)
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Australian scientists are about to launch tests of a new medical technique that they expect will help cancer victims regrow their own breasts and will eventually replace reconstructive surgery. The technique, which involves implanting a device to help fat tissue grow, worked well on pigs and will be tested on human volunteers within the next six months. If the trials are successful, the technology could be available to breast cancer patients within 5 years.
"We hope it will have a significant impact around the world. There are a lot of women who don’t have reconstructive surgery for whatever reason, or have silicone breast implants, but this will give them their own tissue back,” one scientist told the Times of London. “We also like to think that it would alleviate the shock that a woman feels when she is diagnosed with breast cancer, to know that she could possibly grow her breasts back.”