BodyAesthetic Research Center Enrolling Patients in Study of New Tissue Expansion Method for Women Undergoing Breast Reconstruction After Mastectomy

ST. LOUIS, MO--(Marketwire - Mar 13, 2012) - BodyAesthetic Research Center is enrolling mastectomy patients into a clinical study designed to evaluate a new tissue expansion method for those who choose to undergo breast reconstruction. This randomized, controlled clinical study is designed to directly compare the outcomes of the traditional saline tissue expansion method to an investigational, remote-controlled, needle-free, carbon dioxide-based tissue expansion system known as The AeroForm™ Patient Controlled Tissue Expander System.

Tissue expansion is a process required to stretch the skin and tissue at the site of a mastectomy so that a standard saline or silicone breast implant can be placed.

"Traditionally, women undergoing breast reconstruction have had to endure a long process of inconvenient and often painful weekly inflations using conventional saline expanders to create a pocket for a standard implant following a mastectomy," said V. Leroy Young, MD, president of the BodyAesthetic Research Center. "This investigational system eliminates the need for saline injections by allowing the patient to trigger the release of small amounts of compressed carbon-dioxide through the valve of a tiny chamber located inside the expander. The patient uses the remote control to gradually inflate the investigational expander in small, pre-set amounts on a daily basis at home, eliminating the need for weekly doctor visits."

Patients in the study will be randomly selected to receive the investigational expander or a traditional saline expander. The patients who receive the investigational expander will use a wireless remote control to trigger the release of small, regulated amounts of carbon-dioxide to fill the tissue expander, according to a protocol directed by Dr. Young. Once her tissue is adequately expanded, the patient will return to to have the expander removed and a standard implant placed.

During a clinical study in Australia, the average expansion time associated with the remote-controlled tissue expander was 15 days, a fraction of the time required using traditional expanders which can take months to achieve full expansion.

The current standard of care in tissue expansion involves implanting a saline expander under the skin and pectoral muscle following a mastectomy procedure. The patient returns to her doctor weekly for bolus saline injections, which many patients say is the most painful, difficult part of the reconstruction process. The traditional saline process can take as long as five to six months, Dr. Young explained.

BodyAesthetic Research Center and other hospitals across the U.S. are participating in the study. Enrollment will continue until a total of 92 AeroForm expanders and 46 saline expanders have been implanted in patients. AeroForm will be evaluated based on its ability to successfully and safely expand the tissue to the point that the expander can be replaced with a standard breast implant. Secondary measurements will include the average number of days needed to achieve the desired expansion, total reconstruction time, pain and patient satisfaction.

The AeroForm Patient Controlled Tissue Expander was designed and manufactured by AirXpanders, a medical device company in Palo Alto, CA. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted AirXpanders an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) to conduct the study and it has been approved for enrollment by the Mercy St. Louis Medical Center Institutional Review Board (IRB).

For more information on the study, please visit clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01425268).

If you or someone you know is interested in joining the study, please call 314-628-8200.

About BodyAesthetic Research Center
BodyAesthetic Plastic Surgery offers the latest cosmetic surgical techniques and non-surgical technologies that are regularly introduced in the rapidly-evolving field of plastic surgery. BodyAesthetic distinguishes itself from other practices in the St. Louis area in several ways. Although each surgeon has particular areas of expertise, they take a collaborative approach to patients. Renowned for artistically-inspired surgical techniques, the talented surgeons of BodyAesthetic have helped St. Louis breast augmentation, liposuction, tummy tuck (abdominoplasty), facelift, breast lift patients refine and enhance their physical appearances. Taken together, its surgeons offer a broad range of aesthetic and reconstructive surgical procedures, with a specialized focus on facial rejuvenation, breast procedures, and body contouring.