AirXpander ’ s AeroForm tissue expander transforms decades-old procedure

For 40 years, plastic surgeons have used saline injections to expand tissue and prepare patients for breast implants following mastectomies. These tissue expanders consist of a silicone shell with a magnet and a self-sealing port; a doctor uses a different magnet above the skin to access the port and inject saline to stretch the skin. The process is lengthy – patients come into the doctor’s office every week for as much as 3 months. Dr. Tracey Stokes, a plastic surgeon based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has spent 11 years working with mastectomy patients, often using saline expanders to prepare them for breast implants. Not surprisingly, Stokes told MassDevice.com, many patients are daunted by the prospect of such a lengthy and painful series of procedures. So about 2 years ago, she agreed to be the principal investigator in a pair of clinical trials of the AeroForm device made by AirXpanders (ASX:AXP), an needle-less alternative to the conventional saline tissue expander. The AeroForm system is an implanted device that uses gradual increases of pressurized carbon dioxide to expand the patient’s breast tissue to accommodate the new implant. After a mastectomy – often even during the same procedure – a plastic surgeon places the AeroForm expander under the skin and chest muscle. To begin the expansion process, patients pass a controller over the top portion of their chest to detect the device. When that happens, the controller signals the patient...
Source: Mass Device - Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Tags: Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Implants Oncology Surgical Women's Health AirXpanders Source Type: news