Breast cancer, the most common cancer worldwide, affects nearly 15% of all women. Most of these women undergo some kind of mastectomy to treat their cancer, and 75% choose to have breast reconstruction surgery. However, all currently available reconstruction options come with significant health risks. Artificial implants, whether filled with silicone or saline, require frequent safety monitor and must be replaced within 10 to 15 years. In addition, many of those implants are now restricted by the FDA because they are linked to other types of cancers.
Autologous tissue flaps, in which a surgeon takes tissue, with intact blood vessels, from another part of a patient’s body and uses it to reconstruct the breast, are considered a more “natural” approach. But not all women have enough tissue for this procedure, and 30% of patients experience complications at the tissue extraction site that can lead to additional hospitalizations and surgeries. Hence, there is a large, unmet clinical need for breast reconstruction options that are safe and robust and permanent solutions.
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