3D Printed Bioabsorbable Implant for Breast Cancer Reconstruction
Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer affecting women. Every year, 2 million people worldwide are diagnosed with breast cancer, and treatment usually results in removing at least one breast. According to the World Health Organization, by the end of 2020, the number of women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer in the past 5 years and were still alive was 7.8 million women. Several factors contribute to the development of breast cancer, such as age, family history, genetics, hormonal factors, personal history, radiation exposure, and more.
Current Treatments
Similar to other cancers, the standard treatment for breast cancer is chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation therapy. In chemotherapy, doctors use special medicines that shrink and kill cancer cells (in a particular spot of the patient’s body). During surgery, they cut out the whole breast because cancer cells could potentially be spread throughout the majority of the breast. Radiation therapy is a process in which doctors use high-energy rays to kill cancer cells.
Treatment Disadvantages
Although they can successfully eliminate cancer cells, current treatments can also pose many disadvantages. These effects include hair loss, mouth sores, appetite loss, nausea, effects on long-term health, fatigue, discomfort, emotional impact, and these are only a few of them.
Breast Reconstruction After Surgery
Breast reconstruction is a surgical procedure that rebuilds a breast that has usually been surgically removed to treat or prevent cancer. Reconstruction can involve the use of implants or by using tissue from other parts of your body, commonly referred to as flap reconstruction. Breast reconstruction is completely optional to the patient.
1) The first type of breast reconstruction is Implant-Based Reconstruction. This process starts with an expander surgically inserted to progressively stretch the skin and muscle. Once the preferred size is reached, the expander is replaced with an implant.
There are two different types of implants for breasts, saline and silicone implants. Silicone implants are highly recommended by patients because they look and feel more natural, even when placed above the muscles of the chest. Saline implants are considered to be safer than silicone implants because silicone gel implants are more likely to leak than saline implants. However, this raise the question “What happens if the implant ruptures?”.
If a silicone implant tears, it may not be noticeable at first, or ever. The silicone stays trapped in the scar tissue that forms around the implant. This is called a silent rupture. Silicone gel is tightly packed inside the implant shell, so only slight amounts of gel get released. Leaking silicone gel is considered to possibly cause health problems, but it can travel to other parts of the body, potentially leading to a blockage in the bloodstream. If silicone gel is found outside of the breast area, it is usually NOT removed because there is a high risk of damaging other tissues. This means silicone gel is potentially circulating throughout your body, which can be harmful to other organs and healthy tissue.
However, if a saline implant leaks, the implant will flatten, making it noticeable to the patient. Leaking saline solution is not a health risk, because the salt water will reabsorb into the body. The downside of having a saline implant is that if it ruptures, the silicone shell remains in the body, and requires surgery for its removal. The silicone shell for a saline implant is different from a silicone implant because the shell for a silicone implant is thicker and more dense. Even though the shell is thicker in a silicone implant, it is more likely to tear because it holds a heavier substance. That is why one implant shell can be surgically removed and the other cannot.
2) The second type of breast reconstruction is flap reconstruction. Flap reconstruction involves using tissue from other parts of your body (such as your tummy, back, thighs, etc), to rebuild the breast shape. The tissue can be moved in place with its own blood supply or disconnected and reattached to a new blood supply. Flap reconstruction involves surgical procedures.
3D printed Implants in Breast Cancer
An organization called Lattice Medical created a type of 3D printed tissue-regrowing implant called Mattise. This innovative design has been in development for the past six years and is still currently in the process of development. The implant starts as a shell and is made of a completely 3D printed medical-grade resorbable biomaterial, and is designed to fit the patient’s preferences and medical needs.
The 3D printed shell is structured akin to a breast, featuring two important components within its design. The base, and on top is a dome-like structure, making the interior of the shell hollow. Circles/ovals are strategically placed around the shell to ensure there is a connection of blood vessels and veins to the tissue that will be placed inside the shell. The shell is bioabsorbable and made from biofilament, making the materials safe for the patient when they get absorbed into the body. It is crucial that the implant/shell does not release harmful bacteria and substances into the body when it dissolves. As I said before, if a silicone implant were to tear, the gel would be released and can seep into bloodstreams, leading to blockage and potentially other health risks.
This implant is constructed by combining the process of implant reconstruction and flap reconstruction. It takes the two processes and modifies them so the new breast implant maintains its lifelikeness and is not harmful to the patient.
Similar to flap reconstruction, a fraction of the patient’s healthy tissue is taken, but in this procedure, it is inserted into the 3D printed implant shell. The tissue is placed on the center of the base of the shell and attached to its own blood supply when being inserted inside. After the tissue is inside, the top of the shell is attached to the base, and the whole implant is placed in the area where the original breast was. The tissue is then stitched into place, leaving the healthy tissue to autonomously grow inside the shell and fill the breast shape. Since the shell is bioabsorbable, it will fully dissolve into the body in approximately 6–18 months. The tissue will take the same amount of time to fully grow, leaving a naturally formed breast, made from nothing but the patient’s own tissue. The tissue-regrowing implant is a safe, temporary shell to help shape the patients’ tissue so that it will grow into the desired breast size and shape.
As we can tell, there are many benefits to this procedure. Some include no long-term toxic materials released in the body, no risk of rupture or leakage, and this implant is made specifically from the patient’s own tissue, which means the patient’s body will not have to adjust to another substance. These absorbable implants are permanent, so they do not require replacement every 10 years or so, as silicone and saline implants do.
Conclusion
In conclusion, breast cancer remains a significant health concern affecting millions of women worldwide. While these treatments effectively target cancer cells, they come with various disadvantages and side effects, impacting patients emotionally and physically. However, advancements in medical technology, such as the development of 3D printed tissue-regrowing implants like Mattise, present promising alternatives. By utilizing the patient’s own tissue inside a bioabsorbable implant, Mattise offers numerous benefits, including reduced risks of toxicity, rupture, or leakage. This innovative design not only focuses on aesthetics but also prioritizes patient safety and long-term well-being, making this very promising for the future of breast cancer reconstruction.
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Works Cited:
https://www.phyathai.com/en/article/breast-reconstruction-after-breast-Cancer -surgery
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/womens-health/in-depth/breast-implants/art-20045957
Silicone embolism syndrome: Meaning, symptoms, treatment …
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/breast-Cancer
https://www.lattice-medical.com/produit/mattisse-bioprothese-mammaire/
