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A clinical study conducted in five French hospitals proposed a new autologous breast reconstruction technique using a resorbable bioprosthesis. Délia Dammacco, oncological plastic surgeon at the Léon Bérard Centre in Lyon, France, shared details with Medscape’s French edition.

The TIDE clinical study, led by Pierre Guerreschi, MD, PhD, a reconstructive surgeon at Lille University Hospital, Lille, France, evaluated an innovative prosthesis intended for breast reconstruction in patients with breast cancer.

“In breast reconstruction, there are two main categories of surgical techniques: Reconstruction with implants, where the final breast volume is provided by a silicone gel prosthesis, and autologous reconstruction, using tissue harvested from the patient’s body,” explained Dammacco, the principal investigator of the study at the Léon Bérard Centre.

The MATTISSE bioprosthesis, developed by the French MedTech company Lattice Medical, offers a third option. “This new technique combines reconstruction using the patient’s own tissue with a resorbable prosthesis. A flap of adipose tissue is harvested through the same mastectomy incision, located in the inframammary fold. A tissue-engineering implantable chamber is then placed to fill the space left by the breast tissue. It resembles a type of ‘cage’ into which the flap is inserted. In the context of this study, we hypothesized that maintaining an empty space would stimulate the production of inflammatory factors that promote tissue regeneration and enable the growth of adipose tissue within the device. The tissue grows and regenerates, taking the shape of the prosthesis, which gradually resorbs over approximately 12 months. This approach requires only one incision for reconstruction,” she explained.

This method could also reduce the need for repeated fat grafting, which is commonly used in reconstruction. “The study results will determine whether lipomodelling is less necessary to achieve the final volume,” Dammacco stated.

Pilot Phase

The surgery is less invasive than current surgeries and allows for more natural reconstruction. “Ten patients participated in the initial pilot phase, which assessed the safety and performance of the device. After 6 months of observation, the second phase will begin at the end of 2025. We plan to include 40 patients across five centers: Lille University Hospital (study sponsor), Strasbourg University Hospital, Tenon Hospital in Paris, Léon Bérard Centre in Lyon, and Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau in Barcelona,” Dammacco continued.

The patients will be monitored for 3 years. Currently, recruited participants must meet specific criteria. “The cancer must be at an early stage, not requiring chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or be undergoing prophylactic surgery, but only unilateral,” she said.

This innovative technique holds significant promise for the future.

“Current research in breast reconstruction surgery is moving toward regenerative surgery. We are excited to test new products of this type. The Léon Bérard Centre is proud to participate in this study, which is coordinated by Lille. Before human trials, this implant was tested in pigs, where it increased flap volume by 2.5 times. We hope for similar results in humans,” concluded Dammacco.

This story was translated from Medscape’s French edition using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.