Could 3D Printing Tissue Scaffolds Improve Nipple Reconstruction?

“Researchers from the Queensland University of Technology propose 3D printing tissue-engineered constructs as a graft to assist in nipple reconstruction for women who’ve undergone a mastectomy.

Researchers from Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane are proposing using 3D printing to improve outcomes in mastectomies.

They suggest doing this by creating tissue-engineered constructs to use as a graft in nipple reconstruction for women who have undergone a mastectomy.

In the US, there is a one in eight chance that a woman will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Many women who are diagnosed or are at high-risk of the disease choose to have a mastectomy. As a result, nipple reconstruction is common, but there is not just one obvious method.

In a paper published in the journal Tissue Engineering, the Australian researchers reviewed the many nipple reconstruction techniques from simple skin flap surgical methods to a modern 3D printed scaffold approach.”

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