Bioabsorbable Open Framework for Breast Reconstruction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Post-surgical deformities and challenges in breast reconstruction following cancer surgery, such as inadequate tissue for flaps, compromised blood supply, and radiation effects, lead to unsightly and painful deformities, which existing surgical techniques struggle to address effectively.
Innovation Solution
The use of implantable bioabsorbable devices with an open framework that supports adjacent tissue margins, allowing for tissue reapproximation and healing, thereby preserving breast shape and size, and incorporating radiographically visible elements for improved imaging and radiation targeting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If tissue flaps are created to fill surgical cavities and improve breast shape, then aesthetic outcome is improved, but insufficient tissue availability and compromised blood supply can cause flap failure and fat necrosis
Solution Approach 1:
The bioabsorbable device serves as an intermediary support structure between the surgical cavity and surrounding tissues. It provides mechanical support to maintain breast shape without requiring large tissue flaps, thereby reducing the risk of flap failure and fat necrosis while still achieving aesthetic reconstruction
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the parameter of support duration by using bioabsorbable materials that provide structural support during the critical healing period and then gradually degrade. This temporary support allows shape reconstruction without the need for permanent implants or extensive tissue manipulation that could compromise blood supply
2Shape
If seroma fluid fills the surgical cavity immediately after surgery, then the breast shape is temporarily restored, but the cavity collapses over time causing deformities
Solution Approach 1:
The bioabsorbable device is implanted during surgery to provide immediate and sustained structural support to the surgical cavity. This preliminary action prevents the cavity collapse that would otherwise occur after seroma fluid absorption, maintaining breast shape throughout the healing process rather than allowing temporary restoration followed by deformity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses bioabsorbable materials that are designed to be temporary support structures. These short-living objects provide the necessary shape maintenance during the critical healing period and then naturally degrade, eliminating the need for secondary removal surgery while avoiding the long-term complications of permanent implants
3Reliability
If scar tissue develops during the healing process, then the body's natural healing occurs, but adherence of cavity margins causes undesirable deformities
Solution Approach 1:
The bioabsorbable device acts as a spacer or intermediary structure that prevents direct contact and adherence between opposing cavity margins during the healing process. This maintains the three-dimensional architecture of the surgical cavity, allowing scar tissue to form without causing deformities such as dimpling or concavities
Solution Approach 2:
The device introduces a spatial dimension by occupying the surgical cavity volume and maintaining separation between tissue margins. This dimensional support prevents the collapse and adhesion of opposing surfaces, allowing the healing process to occur without the harmful effects of margin adherence
4Reliability
If radiation therapy is administered after surgery, then cancer recurrence is prevented, but the radiation compounds tissue effects and makes correction of deformities very challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The bioabsorbable device provides structural support and maintains tissue architecture before radiation therapy is administered. This preliminary stabilization of the surgical site reduces the severity of radiation-induced tissue damage and minimizes the development of radiation-compounded deformities that would be difficult to correct later
Solution Approach 2:
The device serves as a protective cushion during the radiation therapy period, maintaining tissue separation and reducing the concentration of radiation damage at critical interfaces. This beforehand protection lessens the harmful effects of radiation on healing tissues and reduces the likelihood of severe deformities
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The bioabsorbable devices facilitate natural healing, reduce scarring, and improve aesthetic and mammographic outcomes by supporting tissue during the healing process, allowing autologous fat grafting without foreign material, and providing markers for precise radiation therapy.
Implementation Method 1
The implantable devices generally include a bioabsorbable body having an open framework that facilitates attachment of tissue thereto
Implementation Method 2
incorporating radiographically visible elements for improved imaging and radiation targeting
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein are devices for placement in surgically created soft tissue spaces, potential spaces, or cavities. The implantable devices generally include a bioabsorbable body having an open framework that facilitates attachment of tissue thereto in a manner that helps avoid post-surgical deformities. Methods for using the implantable devices in oncoplastic surgery are further described.