(Photo : Lattice Medical) The cell growth lace

(Photo : Lattice Medical) Drs. Payen and Danze with the MATISSE breast implant.



(Photo : Lattice Medical) Visualization of the Mat(t)isse process. The black shaded areas in D, E and F is the 3D printed implant and in H it has been absorbed and replaced by the tissue.

Many women who go for breast implants develop a condition called breast implant illness. One patient complained that such sufferers are mocked and ignored at a time when most are struggling to look after their kids or undergoing financial stress. Now an altogether new mode of breast implants is being planned to create an alternative to this. In fact, a public hearing was hosted by the FDA recently to find a solution to this problem.

A New Alternative

One possible alternative is a 3-D printed breast implant known as MATTISSE, and it is presently in the process of development in France by a team of researchers. Unlike traditional silicone implants, it makes use of 3-D printing employing bio-absorbable materials. The technical term for this is TEC or Tissue Engineering Chamber and the researchers developing it has founded a company named Lattice Medical, to market this implant as and when it gets ready for the market. The Founder of this company is Dr.Julien Payel who was awarded the Théophile Legrand Textile Innovation prize for this work in 2017.

What Is A 3-D Printed Breast Implant?

By doing an MRI scan, exact measurements of the breasts of the patient are taken. Then the dimensions and shape of the projected implant are calculated. Further, by means of a 3-D printer, a lattice structure in the form of a shell is made in line with the shape of the proposed implant. Then fat cells derived from the patient's body are filled in this shell. In about six months, this shell becomes absorbed into the patient's body, with only the implanted fat left within the breast. As time passes, the body absorbs the latticework and the remaining fatty tissue act as a full breast.

It is this shell structure that works as a channel for imparting the necessary support to the implanted breast. In the process, the fatty cells endure to develop in a pre-defined pattern, that brings about results that are very natural looking and the breast seems practically identical to its original texture. Since the procedure uses the fat cells taken from the patient's physique, it includes a process termed lipo-filling or autologous fat transfers that can be done as a separate operation; this combines lipo-filling as well as bio-absorbable implant augmentation to create the perfect breast.

Conclusion

Concerned doctors are of the opinion that 3-D Printed device could take several years for use in actual patients. This is because this implant has not even reached anywhere near Phase II trials. A whole lot of data has to be collected for FDA approval. This in itself is an enormous burden and the cost of presenting them for FDA approval is prohibitive.

Many women who have gone for breast implants develop a condition called breast implant illness. One patient complained that such sufferers are mocked and ignored at a time most are struggling to look after their kids. Others suffer from financial stress. Now a new an altogether new mode of breast implants planned to create an alternative to this is under observation to find any links with this illness. Recently, a public hearing was hosted by the FDA to find a solution to this problem.

One possible alternative is a 3-D printed breast implant. Known as MATTISSE, it is presently in the process of development in France by a research team. Unlike traditional silicone implants, it makes use of 3D printing employing bio-absorbable materials. The technical term for this is TEC or Tissue Engineering Chamber and the researchers developing it founded the company Lattice Medical, to market this implant named MATTISSE as and when it gets ready for the market. The Founder of this company is Dr.Julien Payel was awarded the Théophile Legrand Textile Innovation prize for this work in 2017.

What Is A 3-D Printed Breast Implant?

By doing an MRI scan, exact measurements of the breasts of the patient are taken. Then the dimensions and shape of the projected implant are calculated. Further, by means of a 3-D printer, a lattice structure in the form of a shell is made in line with the shape of the proposed implant. Then fat cells derived from the patient's body are filled in this shell. Within around six months, this shell becomes absorbed in the patient's body, with only the implanted fat is left within the breast. As time passes, the body absorbs the latticework, and the remaining fatty tissue acting as a full breast.

It is this shell structure that works as a channel for imparting the necessary support to the implanted breast. In the process, the fatty cells endure to develop in a pre-defined pattern, that brings about results that are very natural looking and the breast seems practically identical to the original texture of the breast. Since the procedure uses the fat cells taken from the patient's physique, it includes a process termed lipo-filling or autologous fat transfer that can be done as a separate operation, this combines lipo-filling as well as bio-absorbable implant augmentation.

Concerned doctors are of the opinion that 3-D Printed device could take several years for use in actual patients. This is because this implant has not even reached the close to Phase II trials. In fact, a whole lot of data has to be collected for FDA approval. This in itself is an enormous burden and the cost of presenting them for FDA approval.