Gel implant to help treat children with birth defects

The gel is implanted near a cleft or a wound where it helps the overlying skin to grow over itself, covering the cleft or wound. The excess skin can be later used by the doctors to graft the wound, evading any scar marks.

“Hydrogel” can absorb body water once it is implanted and can expand up to 1500 percent of its original size.

It can also be set to grow in any desired direction, revealed the researchers.

Tissue expansion using “hydrogels”
While tissue expansion is already used for some cosmetic operations, existing hydrogels or silicone balloons “expand in all directions at once,” Marc Swan, a specialist registrar in plastic surgery at the John Radcliffe Hospital, who has led the research said.

“That is fine if you want to reconstruct a breast or carry out other work but to reconstruct fingers that have been fused together, bridge a cleft palette, or treat an injured nose or eyelid, it’s impossible,” he said.

“We thought it would be ideal to have a device that automatically inflates by absorbing the body’s fluids, but something to do this in a controlled way.”

Hydrogel has been made using the ISIS neutron source, a powerful microscope allowing the analysis of materials at the molecular level.

Studies have revealed that the implant can enable new skin growth of several centimeters over a time period of six weeks.

New implant reduces complications
The conventional surgery involved radical surgery or a fistula, a hole made between the mouth and the nasal passage, which resulted in various complications.

The implant would help avoid the need of skin grafting from other body parts which often resulted in disfigured scars, claimed researchers.

The implant can be further reshaped for a number of surgical applications, reducing the need of repeated operations.

Rosanna Preston, chief executive of the Cleft Lip and Palate Association, said “If this technique works as predicted it should make palate surgery easier and less painful for patients. Reducing the number of fistula would certainly be a benefit and could lead to improved speech.

“Surgery is only one element of a 20-year treatment pathway which may also include orthodontics, speech therapy, hearing problems and psychosocial support but anything that can reduce the burden of treatment is to be welcomed.”

The researchers are of the view that the implant would benefit nearly 1000 children born with fussed or webbed legs and cleft palates every year.

The first clinical trials of the instrument are scheduled to begin next spring.