Breast reconstruction technique developed

MELBOURNE, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- A breast-shaped gel-like cage could help regrow natural tissue following breast surgery, Australian researchers developing the technique said.

If successful, the cage could be used as a breast reconstruction technique that avoids using silicone, doctors at the Bernard O'Brien Institute of Microsurgery in Melbourne said.

The cage, which has been tested in pigs, contains a gel with the patient's muscle cells, which prompts the growth of fat tissue to fill the cage and form a natural-looking breast, the BBC reported Friday.

The cages are to be implanted into six patients in the next year, said doctors who presented the technique at a recent plastic surgery conference in Sydney.

The technique, which may need years of development, would be a boon to people who have had mastectomies, said Dr. Lesley Walker of Cancer Research U.K. in Britain.

"We know that having a mastectomy can be a very difficult experience for many women and so research to try to improve breast reconstruction after surgery is important, Walker said.