Breast Augmentation. Photo Credit: Sawfnews.comSeptember 30, 2011, (Sawf News) - The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) has warned against "stem-cell" breast augmentation at the group's annual conference in Birmingham.
Senior plastic surgeons of association said, stem-cell breast augmentations are unproven and should not be offered commercially.
"To think that this unproven research is hijacked and used in the commercial sector is really an appalling thought," former BAAPS president and consultant plastic surgeon Adam Searle told the BBC. "Not least when it's being utilized by inadequately trained practitioners."
"Stem Cell" breast augmentation is a variation of traditional breast augmentation using fat grafting, which involves harvesting fat from areas where it is in excess - like the abdomen, hips, thighs, or buttocks - and re-implanting it in the breast for cosmetic and aesthetic purposes.
In "Stem Cell" augmentation, the harvested fat is enriched with stem cells before being grafted into the breasts. Half the harvested fat is put through a special machine that extracts and condenses the stem cells, which are then mixed with the remaining fat before being injected into the breasts.
The stem cells stimulate generation of a blood supply capillary network to the transplanted fat cells, which then integrate with the existing fat cells. As a result, less of the fat re-implanted into the breasts is reabsorbed by the body. The fat volume retention rate is estimated to be 80% or more.
In traditional breast augmentation using fat grafting 20 to 95 percent of transferred fat can be reabsorbed!
Earlier this week, new clinical data on cell-enriched fat grafting, based on a 12-month trial, was presented to a conference of the Oncoplastic Reconstructive Breast Surgery group, in Nottingham. The study involved 70 patients in seven centers in four countries.
Data from the study hasn't been peer reviewed, but establishes the efficacy of the technique for breast reconstruction following mastectomy.
The study found no serious side-effects, nor did the procedure increase the chances of breast cancer recurrence.
Eva Weiler-Mithoff, a consultant surgeon at Canniesburn Plastic Surgery Unit in Glasgow, who presented the findings of the study at the conference, explained to the BBC how cell-enriched augmentation scored over traditional fat-grafting:
"Traditional fat-grafting (in breast reconstructive surgery) does not work terribly well because there is not enough circulation to support the survival of the fat graft," she said.
"We know if we augment the fat graft with the naturally occurring regenerative cells in fat tissues we can improve the circulation around the fat graft and the survival of the fat graft."
Eva, however, admits additional studies, based on longer-term (5 to 10 years) data, are required for the technique to be considered safe for use in cosmetic surgery.
"We still don't have enough long-term outcome data to say it's safe in the sense that it doesn't encourage the cancer to come back or new breast cancer to develop," she said.
Private clinics that offer cell-enriched augmentation in the UK insist the surgery is safe.
In a statement, Dr Valentina Petrone of The Private Clinic at Harley Street in London, which will have used the technique on 200 patients by the end of this year, said:
"The Private Clinic is confident in respect to the safety of this treatment."
"We, of course, look forward to completion of studies and any other findings as they become available over time and will, if necessary, adapt our protocols accordingly," he added.
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