Some women who have had silicone implants describe their breasts as if there is ice tied to their chest when they try to walk in cold weather, according to the newspaper “The Guardian”.
When you return home or a warm place, the feeling of cold in the chest area continues for hours, because silicone slowly reaches body temperature.
In addition to being uncomfortable, for breast cancer survivors, it can be an unwelcome reminder of an illness they’d rather forget.
Each year, 2 million people worldwide are diagnosed with breast cancer, and treatment often involves removing at least one breast
For several reasons, most women prefer not to have breast implants re-implanted.
According to the newspaper, 30% of women who develop breast cancer in the UK choose not to have a re-implant.
The newspaper reveals that a group of startups wants to change that proportion, through a new technology based on a three-dimensional implant that dissolves after 18 months, after it has worked on the growth of new breast tissue.
“It’s completely biodegradable and leaves no trace, after 18 months there will be no product in your body,” says Julian Payne, CEO of Latis Medical, the start-up and owner of the implant.
The first human trial of this implant is scheduled to begin on July 11 in Georgia.
Another startup called HellShape is working on its own implant and expects to begin clinical trials within two years.
These new breast implants depend on avoiding the problems caused by silicone, such as the presence of a foreign substance in the body that increases the risk of certain diseases, as well as that this substance should be replaced every ten years.
Today, there are two main types of breast reconstruction, silicone implants and flap surgery.
While implants are easy, flap surgery is a highly specialized procedure that requires a “flap” of tissue to be taken from the stomach, thigh or back.
Despite the flap surgery being performed twice or more, and the fact that its recovery period is longer than silicone implants, surgeons often recommend using it because it gives a 100 percent natural result, and it lasts forever without the need for another operation after a certain time, such as silicone.
As for start-ups, they say they can implant breasts in different ways and without leaving a trace, and better than flap surgery can produce.
HellShip uses hydrogel, a safe material made from natural or synthetic polymers, by 3D printing a soft implant that is slowly localized by a person’s fat cells. The first batch is injected, while the implant disappears over a period of six to nine months.
Every Planet is developing something similar by using genetically engineered materials to produce human collagen, an important type of protein that makes up various body tissues.
Latis Medical has a different approach based on a 3D-printed “cage” implant made of biodegradable biopolymer that is attached to a flap of the body under the chest. Fat tissue grows, then the body absorbs the cage itself and degrades, resulting in The end to the breast growth in place.
Some scientists believe that reconstructing the flap with connected nerves can restore some feeling to the breast within a few years, thus overcoming the problem of lack of sensation experienced by women who have had their breasts removed.