Picture a day when breast reconstruction can be accomplished for mastectomy patients by the body’s ability to regrow breast tissue. Or a facial reconstruction that is done on severely burned patients with procedures other than painful skin grafts. While this day may still be far away in the future, medical technology is most definitely moving in this direction. The key to this ability to allow cosmetic changes to take place on the body naturally comes from a relatively new concept known as stem cell therapy. And while you may have heard about the controversy and ethics debate that is going on within the medical community regarding other types of stem cell therapies, the cosmetic surgery industry is also looking at alternative methods of obtaining stem cells for use in these procedures.
What are Stem Cells?
Stem cells can be used in a variety of ways to treat illness and heal the body, because of their ability to develop into a variety of specialized cell types. This means that stem cells can be used to naturally repair and even regrow organs, particularly the skin. This ability shows great promise in surgeries like facial rejuvenation and breast reconstruction. Of course, this process could be expanded to breast augmentation and other types of cosmetic procedures. Much of the research that is being done today involves stem cells that are taken from the bone marrow of a healthy volunteer, but scientists are also looking into the possibility of using cells from liposuction procedures as well.
The benefit of stem cell therapy as opposed to conventional reconstructive surgery is the fact that tissue and skin can be grown using the stem cells in a much more natural manner than current methods. The soft tissue implants that are used today can lose as much as 40-60% of their volume over a period of time. This would not be the case with tissue that is regrown using stem cell therapy. This type of procedure also reduces the need for additional surgeries that are now required to obtain the tissue that is used in the implant. The result is a less invasive process, with a quicker recovery and a higher success rate.
The Many Possibilities of Stem Cell Therapy
The advantages to this procedure could be expanded to include allowing patients to grow back hair and teeth as well as skin. This could bring great promise to patients suffering with hair or teeth loss, as well as to those with extensive scarring. The possibilities are nearly limitless, but with the advances being made currently in treating a variety of life-threatening illnesses using stem cell therapy, research for cosmetic purposes will need to sit on the back burner for the time being. However, it is possible that the day will come when cosmetic and reconstructive surgery will become less invasive and more natural. Isn’t modern science truly amazing?
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What are Stem Cells?
Stem cells can be used in a variety of ways to treat illness and heal the body, because of their ability to develop into a variety of specialized cell types. This means that stem cells can be used to naturally repair and even regrow organs, particularly the skin. This ability shows great promise in surgeries like facial rejuvenation and breast reconstruction. Of course, this process could be expanded to breast augmentation and other types of cosmetic procedures. Much of the research that is being done today involves stem cells that are taken from the bone marrow of a healthy volunteer, but scientists are also looking into the possibility of using cells from liposuction procedures as well.
The benefit of stem cell therapy as opposed to conventional reconstructive surgery is the fact that tissue and skin can be grown using the stem cells in a much more natural manner than current methods. The soft tissue implants that are used today can lose as much as 40-60% of their volume over a period of time. This would not be the case with tissue that is regrown using stem cell therapy. This type of procedure also reduces the need for additional surgeries that are now required to obtain the tissue that is used in the implant. The result is a less invasive process, with a quicker recovery and a higher success rate.
The Many Possibilities of Stem Cell Therapy
The advantages to this procedure could be expanded to include allowing patients to grow back hair and teeth as well as skin. This could bring great promise to patients suffering with hair or teeth loss, as well as to those with extensive scarring. The possibilities are nearly limitless, but with the advances being made currently in treating a variety of life-threatening illnesses using stem cell therapy, research for cosmetic purposes will need to sit on the back burner for the time being. However, it is possible that the day will come when cosmetic and reconstructive surgery will become less invasive and more natural. Isn’t modern science truly amazing?
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
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