In what could be termed as a boon for the mankind, the scientists in the United States, Mexico and Switzerland are now able to grow human body parts like the reproductive organs and nasal cartilage in the laboratory and the good news is that they are successfully implanting the tissues in patients.
Two new studies have elaborated on the new development in the medical science.
In the first article, the scientists have written the success story of the replacement of reproductive organs in four teenage girls born with a missing or malformed vagina or uterus. In the second study, scientists have thrown light on how they replaced portions of noses that had been removed after cancer surgery.
PROCEDURE
The researches began the repair in both the cases by creating a three-dimensional scaffold in the size and shape of the missing organs. The scaffold is made out of a material that slowly dissolves into the organ as it grows. Then small pieces of muscle and tissue were taken, using those cells to seed the growth of the organs or cartilage across the constructed scaffold. In a few weeks time, the cells take good hold and they grow to cover the scaffold, forming tissue which is then implanted in the patient.
According to the researchers, the procedure has almost no complications, even after years of follow-up.
The findings of the studies are published in the British journal The Lancet.
