The implant methods used by modern breast reconstructive and cosmetic surgery rely on artificial implants consisting of bags of silicone or saline solution. Silicone/saline solution implants, however, have not presented a strong safety record, since there were many cases of rejection or rupture of the implant. Not to mention that they tend to lose their shape after a few years, thus not being suitable for lifetime use.Silicone/saline solution implants, however, have not presented a strong safety record:Diana Oprean

This may change drastically within the next decade, as scientists at the University of Illinois, Chicago presented, at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in February, successful results of recent research concerning natural implants, made of tissue artificially grown from human stem cells.

Stem cells are undifferentiated ?master cells � that have the ability to grow into any one of the body ?s more than 200 cell types, under the appropriate conditions. By mimicking the exact natural conditions in which fat cells develop in the human body, the research team successfully created and then multiplied adipose tissue cells in the laboratory, placing them onto special hydrogel scaffolding, in order to properly nourish them and mold them into shape. This process completed, the implant material created is ready to be inserted into the body.

Since the material inserted is created from the patient ?s own stem cells, it will constitute no risk of rejection, unlike artificial implants made of silicone or saline solution. Vascularization of the implanted material will also become possible. The researchers believe that this technique has the potential to revolutionize other reconstructive types of surgery as well, other from breast surgery, particularly due to the fact that the implant material is capable of maintaining its size and shape for a lifetime, as compared to conventional implants, that lose between 40% and 60% of their volume over time. Last but not least, there is obviously no risk of rupture or leakage.

Even though the technique has only been tested on mice, once the viability of grown implants is proved for humans as well, the implants grown from stem cell material could become largely available within a decade. They could become a safer alternative to silicone or saline solution implants, which, apart from rupturing, can interfere with diagnostic techniques, such as mammography, used to detect breast cancer. This technique of implantation of artificially grown cells, however, will only be applied by highly specialized surgeons, unlike the current ready-made implants, that can be inserted by any cosmetic surgeon.

Taking this into account, as well as the fact that the multiplication of cells is a complex procedure that takes considerable time, it can be naturally expected that natural implants will have higher costs than the artificial ones used today. The only aspect a future patient will have to deal with, apart from the ones implied by current implant techniques, is the extraction of the stem cells; thus, a disadvantage of such a technique will be the damage caused at the donor site.

However, the advantages of stem cell grown structures outweigh their disadvantages and perhaps one of the most important achievements of this new technique is that it offers patients more than one option to choose from.