Breast cancer patients in Bristol are being offered new reconstructive treatment which involves using tissue from pigs.
The procedure at Southmead Hospital in the city cuts the number of operations each patient requires, enabling them to have reconstruction at the same time as their breast is removed.
The porcine tissue is grafted on to the bottom of the muscle underneath the breast following a mastectomy. It is a change to the traditional procedure which uses a tissue expander like a balloon to gradually create the space for an implant, inserted during another operation at a later date.
Simon Cawthorn, breast surgeon at Southmead, said the hospital has treated around 40 women in this way.
He said: "We have had very few complications and [the patients] are very pleased.
"It is now offered as a routine procedure as part of the treatment offered with the plastic surgeons here."
The treatment was funded by a grant from the Bristol-based charity Breast Cancer Unit Support Trust (Bust).
Trustee Jenny Wookey said: "We are delighted that we have been able, through the generosity of people who donate to us, to be able to finance this new treatment."
Bust, which has raised more than £1...
↧