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It seems like all the latest breast reconstruction techniques like Neopec come from Australia. Now the Australians have come up with a rapid way to expand chest skin after breast cancer mastectomy to allow placement of a breast implant and thereby reconstruct the breast (see my blog Reconstruction After Breast Cancer Surgery). Usually a saline balloon or expander is surgically placed and the surgeon then progressively fills it with salt water that is injected on a weekly basis to stretch the skin. This can take up to 6 months. Now they have devised an expander that contains a cylinder of compressed carbon dioxide gas. The patient controls the release of the gas into the expander with a handheld remote control and slowly expands on a daily basis.
Preliminary data reveal that using the Aeroform Tissue Expander the expansion can be completed in 17 days instead of 6 months. Enrollment in FDA clinical trials have begun in the US and the manufacturer is predicting a 2014 FDA clearance for general use.
Aaron Stone MD - Plastic Surgeon Los Angeles
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