Regenerative medicine seeks to replace tissue or organs that have been damaged by disease, trauma, or congenital issues, vs. the current clinical strategy that focuses primarily on treating the symptoms. The tools used to realize these outcomes are tissue engineering, cellular therapies, and medical devices and artificial organs. Combinations of these approaches can amplify our natural healing process in the places it is needed most or take over the function of a permanently damaged organ. Regenerative medicine is a relatively new field that brings together experts in biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, genetics, medicine, robotics, and other fields to find solutions to some of the most challenging medical problems faced by humankind.
While many clinicians and scientists across all fields of medicine have been involved in regenerative medicine research and clinical advances over the last two decades, plastic surgeons have been especially instrumental in moving new therapies into the clinical arena and having a leadership role in new scientific discoveries.
Visiting the surgeon for a comprehensive evaluation is the best way to determine whether you’re an ideal candidate for specific therapy or not. Medical screening, review of relevant imaging, and physical examination are key to deciding the best treatment approach to address your pain and joint disease or injury. Following your assessment, your surgeon will recommend a treatment plan.
Plastic surgeons have been pioneers in the use of protein scaffolds to generate the dermal layer, or innermost layer of the skin, following burn injury.
Breast reconstruction is a vital part of cancer therapy for many women. Plastic surgeons are achieving better outcomes through the use of decellularized tissue scaffolds to regenerate new tissue layers over implants in breast cancer survivors.
Complex wounds that are difficult to heal represent a major focus for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine strategies. Skin substitutes, composed of living cells grown in a laboratory, are used to heal these types of wounds. Additionally, growth factors are being explored for improving wound healing. One of the most significant breakthroughs in regenerative therapy for wound healing has been the use of negative pressure devices. Discovered by a plastic surgeon, these devices use negative pressure and micro-mechanical forces to stimulate wound healing.
A significant advance in surgical regenerative medicine has been the development and refinement of techniques to transfer fat tissue in a minimally invasive manner. This allows the regeneration of fat tissue in other parts of the body, using a patient’s own extra fat tissue. This technique is revolutionizing many reconstructive procedures, including breast reconstruction. Importantly, fat tissue is an important source of adult mesenchymal stem cells. Discovered by plastic surgeons, adipose derived stem cells are easy to isolate from fat tissue and hold tremendous promise for treating many disorders across the body.
Plastic surgeons are experts in the biology of scar formation and the molecular signals that impact healing. Regenerative therapies are being developed using energy-based devices, such as laser and intense pulsed light, to improve the healing of scars.
The ultimate in “Tissue replacement therapy,” hand and face transplantation represents a life-restoring therapy for patients with severe trauma or other disease processes that result in loss of the hands or face. Most people aren’t aware of this fact, but the very first successful human organ transplant was performed by a plastic surgeon.
For deformities that involve complex structures such as a major part of the nose, plastic surgeons are engineering new replacement parts at another site on the body. In a process called “flap prefabrication,” the structure is assembled using tissue grafts and then transferred to the deformity after healing.
Another technique pioneered by plastic surgeons is the use of gradual expansion of implanted balloon devices to generate new skin tissue that can cover a deformity. This technique is revolutionizing breast reconstruction and the treatment of many births anomalies.
Is it safe?
Different surgeries has different complications and risks , however the following list of risks is common for most of therapies discussed above :
Most of surgeries are done with general or local anesthesia, therefore during the surgery itself you won’t feel any pain or discomfort.
Post-op pain depends on the type and complexity of the surgery, but your surgeon and medical team will do their best to make your recovery smooth and easy. Most of pain can be treated with pain killer medicine, you have to be prepared to feel some discomfort and be patient, in order to achieve best results.
The first week after a regenerative surgery, use caution with activity no matter how good you feel. Your original baseline level of pain may return in a few days and most likely by the second week. This original level of pain is normal and may continue for the next month or so as the regenerative cells are beginning their regeneration. Your regenerative cells are very tender and delicate and need special care if they are going to grow and help heal your injury. Avoid twisting and compressive forces (squatting, leg presses, etc.). If you are in doubt what to do – less is best. You are your body’s best advocate. You need your body’s natural inflammatory process to start the healing process to create the matrix in your tissue/joint as the regenerative cells begin to work.
Most of regenerative surgeries have long lasting results. Careful monitoring of your health conditions through self-exam and other diagnostic techniques is essential to your long-term health and results. You might be not satisfied with the outcomes that you will have after surgery and might consult you surgeon for additional therapies and homecare. Sometimes it is hard to match the normal condition of body or tissue with post-operative results, especially if you had undergone some kind of trauma or accident, that’s the reason why you should have realistic expectations. Additionally following your surgeon’s advice will help to accelerate the healing process and to gain better results.
Although regenerative medicine is some kind brand new kind of therapy “from the future “ , be aware that not all kinds of diseases can be treated , specially if the problem is deep inside genetics or related to unpredictable cases. Apparently, you have to try and do your best to treat the health problem that you have, but you should have real expectations.
Giant Nevi Removal Table of Contents Children can be born with pigmented moles called congenital nevi (or nevus, if singular). These represent a proliferation of melanocytes, the pigment-producing cells of the skin. When they occur, congenital melanocytic nevi can be highly varied in size and shape. They may be very
Gynecomastia Table of Contents Gynecomastia surgery reduces breast size in men, flattening and enhancing the chest contours. In severe cases of gynecomastia, the weight of excess breast tissue may cause the breasts to sag and stretch the areola (the dark skin surrounding the nipple). In these cases, the position and size
Poland Syndrome Table of Contents Poland syndrome is a disorder in which affected individuals are born with missing or underdeveloped muscles on one side of the body, resulting in abnormalities that can affect the chest, shoulder, arm, and hand. The extent and severity of the abnormalities vary among affected individuals.
Scar Revision Table of Contents A scar revision is a procedure done on a scar to alter the appearance of the scar. The revision may improve the cosmetic appearance of the scar, restore function to a part of the body that may have been restricted by the scar, or improve
Tissue Expansion Table of Contents Tissue Expansion is a procedure performed to promote the growth of healthy supplementary skin used for the replacement of damaged skin. This reconstructive procedure is an option for almost any area of the body, allowing plastic surgeons to repair skin damaged by both congenital and
