Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Scar-free surgery?

Updated 3/2017-- photos and all links (except to my own posts) removed as many no longer active. and it was easier than checking each one. 

H/T to MedGadget for bring this research to my attention.  Wow!  I know it is not ready for primetime, but still – wow!  Currently, this isn’t the case (no scar-free tummy tucks or facelifts), but the possibility may exist in the future.
Michael Berger over at Nanowerk profiles the work of Japanese scientists who created adhesive ultrathin "nanosheets" which are able to bind tissue together.  Their goal was to create a material that can help avoid suturing or stapling of fragile tissue during surgery.   (photo credit)
Shinji Takeoka tells Nanowerk. "We found that our ultra-thin PLLA nanosheet has an excellent sealing efficacy for gastric incision as a novel wound dressing that does not require adhesive agents. Furthermore, the sealing operation repaired the incision completely without scars and tissue adhesion. This approach would constitute an ideal candidate for an alternative to conventional suture/ligation procedures, from the perspective not only of a minimally invasive surgical technique but also reduction of operation times."


Takeoka and colleagues have published their findings in a recent paper in Advanced Materials ("Free-Standing Biodegradable Poly(lactic acid) Nanosheet for Sealing Operations in Surgery").

1 comment:

Jabulani said...

Oh won't this be fantastic if it's as good as it sounds!!