14 DAY TRIAL // Artificial breast implants made with silicone or salt water can be tricky.
They give to the patient's breasts an artificial look which cannot fool anybody.
Moreover, this is a foreign element implanted in the woman's organism and many times it can break off, requiring surgical removal, which is as invasive as the initial implant itself. And, besides suspicions of cancer and other conditions caused by artificial implants, the bearer can get enough of them at one moment.
But as the breast is formed mostly of conjunctive and fat tissues, Japanese researchers have encountered a method to increase the size of a woman's breasts employing fat and stem cells.
The fat is collected from the stomach or thigh areas and enriched with stem cells before being injected in the woman's breasts. The stem cells would divide to form new fat cells. It is hoped the method could prove a more natural-looking alternative. More than 40 women have benefited from this technique and the Japanese researchers said it increases a woman's cupsize by two numbers, providing a natural looking and soft alternative to traditional silicone or salt water implants.
The new method is regarded as a success by the Japanese team. "There have been no serious complications," said Kotaro Yoshimura of Tokyo University medical school. "Breast enlargement using fat and stem cells did not create a lumpy effect".
The surgeons inserted lots of small particles rather than "one big lump". By now Cellport Clinic Yokohama in Japan is the only one providing the treatment, stating on their website "The enhanced breasts are soft and natural, so they are the patient's "real" breasts."
Some expressed their concerns. "It would be incorrect to suggest that a breast implant equivalent could grow from stem cells alone, and fat transfer, which is not a new procedure, can still lead to complications and give a lumpy effect", said consultant Norman Waterhouse to BBC. "This appears to be a rather optimistic view of what is yet a theoretical approach." "We greet this news with extreme caution", said consultant Rajiv Grover.
Others have quite a positive attitude towards this new technique. "The development should not be dismissed."
"There is exciting potential but no reality in practical terms at the moment. The stem cell 'soup' is too non-specific to really focus on what you want", said Adam Searle, ex-president of British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons.