So, you’ve been told you have good genes. Imagine if you could grow them. Researchers have developed several techniques to grow skin, bone and other tissues – not someone else’s, but yours.
The genetic techniques may one day provide plastic and reconstructive surgeons with an invaluable tool that could take gene therapy from the research lab to the operating room for the treatment of local disorders and injuries, according to an article on reconstructive surgery that appears in the June issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
Researchers say they will soon be able to promote the growth of “almost every different tissue” for regenerative surgery and provide a solution to correct deformities of a specific area or structure including large burn areas. If that’s the case, there’s no reason why surgeons can’t use gene therapy to promote the growth of specific tissue and, in the future, improve the quality of plastic surgery treatments.
Promising Results With Genetic Techniques
Promising results have also been found in techniques that involve the transplantation of genetically modified donor bone to grow new formations. Researchers report clinical benefits of gene therapy to regenerate joint cartilage in patients with rheumatoid arthritis or efforts to promote healing of tendons, regeneration of injured nerves, and growth of skin flaps for reconstructive surgery.
But, despite progress, regenerative surgery is like an adolescent looking to grow up. Translating experimental gene therapy methods into regenerative surgery techniques for use in the operating room will remain a difficult and expensive challenge. Even after the technical problems are addressed, more work will be needed to develop regenerative surgery techniques that are productive and cost-effective.
Even so, gene therapy based strategies in reconstructive procedures may someday set valuable milestones for development of efficient treatments in a growing number of local diseases and injuries.
Time Takes Time
Technology, in the form of rhinoplasty and nasal reconstruction, chin and cheek augmentation, and laser scar repair, is already available. That’s good news for those of you who want immediate results. But more time is needed for genetic therapies, and time takes time.
If you are interested in a number of reconstructive approaches to facial surgery that are at your disposal today, contact the Williams Center Plastic Surgery Specialists in Albany, New York, at (800) 742-2797. In many cases, 3-D digital imaging can show you the results of facial surgery before you see a scalpel. A pressure-free consultation can provide you with information on protocols, risks and realistic outcomes that can return you to that happy face you once knew.
About the Author: Dr. Edwin Williams
Dr. Edwin Williams is a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon who founded The Williams Center in 1993. He has performed over 10,000 facial plastic surgery procedures and has pioneered the deep plane facelift. He served on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Facial Plastic Surgery for over a decade, and served as President from 2015-2016. In 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, Dr. Williams earned the Castle Connelly Top Doctors award in New York Facial Plastic Surgery.
Dr. Edwin F. Williams III attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1982. He began medical school at the State University of Buffalo School of Medicine and received his Doctor of Medicine in 1986.
Dr. Williams is actively involved in teaching facial plastic and reconstruction surgery to the residents of the Albany Medical Center and is former Chief of the Section of Facial and Plastic Reconstruction Surgery at Albany Medical Center where he received an academic appointment of Clinical Professor, Department of Surgery.