CANCER VICTIMS 'COULD REGROW OWN BREASTS' Women take part in pioneer trial.

Byline: EMILY COOK

CANCER victims may be able to re-grow breasts if revolutionary surgery is a success.

It could also transform cosmetic surgery by allowing women to boost their busts naturally.

Until now, mastectomy patients have only had the option of reconstruction, paying for implants or simply not replacing a lost breast.

But pioneering stem cell surgery, called Neopec, could allow new breasts to grow.

Already a team under Professor Wayne Morrison at the Bernard O'Brien Institute in Melbourne, Australia, has successfully grown breasts on pigs.

Five women will take part in a trial starting in January.

Professor Morrison said: "If it is satisfactory we could use this method to treat any type of contour defect, whether it is a breast, a congenital deformity or trauma."

The surgery involves implanting a breast-shaped chamber under the skin. Blood is then re-directed to a piece of patient's fat, which is stimulated to grow. As the fully functional breast is formed the chamber dissolves.

In pigs, it took six weeks for new breasts to grow but, for women, it will be four to six months.

The surgery could be widely available to breast cancer patients within three years and, for cosmetic purposes, in 10 years.

HOW IT WORKS

1 An incision is made in the breast

The synthetic breast - shaped chamber act as a scaffold for the new breast to grow in

2 A blood vessel is redirected from the underarm to a piece of patient's fat, inside the chamber.

3 The chunk of fat is injected with a special gel to stimulate tissue production. The fat multiplies rapidly and grows to fill the chamber and form a new breast

4 The chamber dissolves after the new breast is formed. The breast is fully functional and has its own blood supply