Forget gummy bear implants (the newest breast implants that could hit the market by the end of this year). "Gummy bear" implants also known as "form stable" breast implants are a more solid state of silicone and hold the tear-drop shape of the breast better. This could further improve breast aesthetics and form especially in the breast reconstruction patient's.
However, researchers are currently working on even the next wave of breast implants which may do more than boost breast size; they may actually be able to detect and destroy breast cancer cells.
Sound far-fetched? It may not be all that far off:
Researchers at Brown University in Providence, RI, have created an implant that may deter breast cancer cell regrowth. The new implant is composed of a common polymer. It is modified at the nanoscale to cause a reduction in the blood-vessel architecture that breast cancer tumors depend upon while recruiting healthy blood vessel cells for breast tissue. Their findings appear in the journal Nanotechnology.
In a related discovery, a team of researchers out of the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, received $100,000 in seed in seed money via “GE healthymagination Cancer Challenge.” They are creating implants and tissue expanders for breast reconstruction after cancer that are embedded with pharmaceutical agents. The new devices could be expected to help fight infection, reduce inflammation, and possibly even target and destroy stray cancer cells.
At TruYou Plastic Surgery, we are constantly reading the literature and staying on top of emerging technologies such as these. We are committed to our patient's safety and well being.
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| Dr. Sternberg & Dr. Hickman |
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| Selecting the best implants is extremely important |
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