Doctor implants artificial vagina

A study published in the Lancet,
to show the power of
regenerative medicine, shown
that four women have had new
vaginas grown in the laboratory
and implanted by doctors in the
US.

A tissue sample and a
biodegradable scaffold were
used to grow vaginas in the right
size and shape for each woman
as well as being a tissue match.
All the women reported normal
levels of "desire, arousal,
lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction"
and painless intercourse.
Experts said the study, published
in the Lancet, was the latest
example of the power of
regenerative medicine.
'I feel fortunate'
In each woman the vagina did
not form properly while they
were still inside their mother's
womb, a condition known as
vaginal aplasia.
Current treatments can involve
surgically creating a cavity, which
is then lined with skin grafts or
parts of the intestine.
Scaffold The scaffold is made of a
biodegradable material
Doctors at Wake Forest Baptist
Medical Centre in North Carolina
used pioneering technology to
build vaginas for the four
women who were all in their
teenage years at the time.
Scans of the pelvic region were
used to design a tube like 3D-
scaffold for each patient.
A small tissue biopsy was taken
from the poorly developed vulva
and grown to create a large
batch of cells in the laboratory.
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
James Gallagher Health and
Science reporter, BBC News
This is an exciting glimpse into
the future of medicine. Using
living tissue as building material
to transform the lives of patients
has already happened with
bladders, blood vessels and
windpipes. Now you can add
vaginas and noses to the list.
There are even attempts to make
more complex organs. Weakly
beating hearts and kidneys that
can produce urine have been
made in animal studies. But this
is still a long way from being
used in humans.
Expect 3D printing to
revolutionise this field as the
technology to precisely place
both the cells and the scaffolding
improves.
Will we ever grow replacement
hands?
Muscle cells were attached to the
outside of the scaffold and
vaginal-lining cells to the inside.
The vaginas were carefully
grown in a bioreactor until they
were suitable to be surgically
implanted into the patients.
One of the women with an
implanted vagina, who wished to
keep her name anonymous, said:
"I believe in the beginning when
you find out you feel different.
"I mean while you are living the
process, you are seeing the
possibilities you have and all the
changes you'll go through.
"Truly I feel very fortunate
because I have a normal life,
completely normal."
'An important thing'
All the women reported normal
sexual function.
Vaginal aplasia can lead to other
abnormalities in the reproductive
organs, but in two of the women
the vagina was connected to the
uterus.
There have been no pregnancies,
but for those women it is
theoretically possible.
Scaffold in an incubator The
scaffold is placed in an incubator
Dr Anthony Atala, director of the
Institute for Regenerative
Medicine at Wake Forest told the
BBC News website: "Really for the
first time we've created a whole
organ that was never there to
start with, it was a challenge."
He said a functioning vagina was
a "very important thing" for
these women's lives and
witnessing the difference it
made to their lives "was very
rewarding to see".
This is the first time the results
have been reported, however,
the first implants took place eight
years ago.
'Most important questions'
Meanwhile researchers at the
University of Basel in Switzerland
have used similar techniques to
reconstruct the noses of patients
after skin cancer.
Scientist in lab The other side of
the scaffold is coated with
smooth muscle cells before it is
incubated a second time
It could replace the need to take
cartilage from the ribs or ears in
order to rebuild the damage
caused by cutting the cancer
away.
Prof Martin Birchall, who has
worked on lab-grown
windpipes, commented: "These
authors have not only
successfully treated several
patients with a difficult clinical
problem, but addressed some of
the most important questions
facing translation of tissue
engineering technologies.
The steps between first-in-
human experiences such as
those reported here and their
use in routine clinical care
remain many, including larger
trials with long-term follow-up,
the development of clinical grade
processing, scale-out, and
commercialisation."