POSTED: 3:00 pm MDT April 29, 2011PITTSBURGH -- Plastic surgeons have long performed fat grafting for cosmetic reasons, but researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have teamed with the department of defense to study new ways to help soldiers with facial injuries by using adult stem cells from harvested fat. ?I chose to serve with the army. I chose to serve with special operations. I chose to serve in the infantry," Soldier Jeremy Feldbusch said. Jeremy was just 23 and deployed in Northern Iraq when his unit came under attack. ?A piece of shrapnel about an inch by an inch and a quarter thick penetrated the side of my right eye," Jeremy explained. "That was the start of a different battle for me.? The attack left him blind, brain injured, and severely scarred. Doctor Peter Rubin is part of a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center team researching new ways to precisely reshape injured faces using a patient?s own store of fat. ?That?s our best replacement tissue after trauma or cancer therapy,? J. Peter Rubin, M.D., chief of plastic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, said. Doctor Rubin removes fat from a patient?s abdomen or thighs, then, it?s processed separating tissue layers from other fluids. He then re-injects the concentrated fat into the injured area adding volume and smoothing it out. One potential side effect is grafted fat may be re-absorbed by the body. Ultimately, researchers want to know if adult stem cells present in fat tissue will prevent that. ?We know that they will be stressed by the surgical procedure, and under the stress, they are capable of releasing different growth factors that can assist in the healing process,? Dr. Rubin said. For now, patients like Jeremy are reaping the benefits of the research even without super-charged fat tissue. Jeremy's sunken forehead and large facial scar are less noticeable. ?I don?t know that it?s given me any more confidence," Jeremy said. "It?s made me feel more like me." European researchers have shown that fat grafts performed with tissue enriched by the stem cells show promise, but no studies in this country have proven its effectiveness yet. Pittsburgh researchers say that is one of the main goals of their study. BACKGROUND: According to plasticsurgery.com, fat grafting is a procedure where doctors remove a patient's own fat to re-implant it where it is needed. The fat is typically extracted from body parts like the abdomen, thighs or buttocks and injected into another area that requires "plumping," such as the face. When used as a facial filler, fat grafting can improve the creased and sunken areas of the face and add fullness to the lips and cheeks. FAT HELPS SOLDIERS: A team of doctors at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has received $1.6 million from the Department of Defense to help wounded soldiers recover from facial injuries by using technologies based on the biology of fat tissue. "As many as 26 percent of wounded soldiers suffer some kind of facial injury, which can have a huge impact on quality of life," Dr. J. Peter Rubin, chief of plastic surgery and co-director at the Adipose Stem Cell Center at the University of Pittsburgh, was quoted as saying. "While we can reconstruct bony structures very well, it is the surrounding soft tissues that give people a recognizable face. This project will investigate how soft tissue grafting can more precisely restore facial form and improve the lives of our wounded soldiers." The research program involves the treatment of 20 soldiers with facial injuries. The use of fat grafting for serious facial injuries, such as those resulting from roadside bombs, is performed by using specially-designed devices and instruments for harvesting fat tissue and implanting it into regions of scarred tissue. "Fat grafting, or moving fat tissue from one part of the body to another, has been used as a cosmetic procedure for decades," Dr. Rubin said. "We are now applying this technology for reconstructive surgery to accurately restore facial form after battlefield injuries." (SOURCE: University of Pittsburgh Press Release) HOW IT WORKS: Dr. Rubin first removes fat from a patient's abdomen or thighs. Then, the fat is processed. Tissue layers are separated from other fluids. Dr. Rubin then re-injects the concentrated fat into the injured area. This adds volume and smoothes it out. STEM CELLS: THE FUTURE OF FAT GRAFTING? The research team would ultimately like to know if adult stem cells, which are present in fat tissue, will prevent grafted fat from being reabsorbed by the body. Dr. Rubin's team has separated stem cells from other fat tissue in lab studies. Their goal is to eventually re-inject stem cell enriched tissue for even better results. European studies have shown fat grafts performed with tissue enriched by stem cells shows promise. However, no studies in the United States have proven its effectiveness. MORE For More Information, Please Contact: Amy Dugas, Media Coordinator
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Pittsburgh, PA
dugasak@upmc.edu The following are comments from our users. Opinions expressed are neither created nor endorsed by TheDenverChannel.com. By posting a comment you agree to accept our Terms of Use. Comments are moderated by the community. To report an offensive or otherwise inappropriate comment, click the "Flag" link that appears beneath that comment. Comments that are flagged by a set number of users will be automatically removed.
No comments:
Post a Comment