Researchers in London, UK, are investigating the effectiveness of stem cell therapies for facial reconstruction.
A joint team, from London's Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and University College London's Institute of Child Health, has published the findings of their research in the journal Nanomedicine.
This follows the recent news that another UK-based team, of The London Chest Hospital, has begun the largest ever trial of adult stem cells in heart attack patients.
Great Ormond Street has a proven track record in facial reconstruction, particularly with regard to treating children with a missing or malformed ear - a condition called microtia. This kind of reconstructive surgery involves taking cartilage from the patient's ribs to craft a "scaffold" for an ear, which is then implanted beneath the skin.
Despite successes with this method, the researchers thought the treatment may be improved by bringing stem cells into the process.
Growing cartilage using stem cells taken from the patient's fat
To do this, the doctors would take a small sample of fat from the patient and extract stem cells from it. The stem cells would then be placed onto a special ear-shaped scaffold, called a "POSS-PCU nanoscaffold."
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