People who are left disfigured after cancer surgery are having the damage to their faces repaired by injections of stomach fat.
The pioneering treatment is being given to those who have suffered severe damage as a result of radiotherapy and operations to remove tumours from their head or neck.
For decades, surgeons have successfully used a similar type of fat transfer to reconstruct breast tissue after cancer surgery such as mastectomies.
People who are left disfigured after cancer surgery are having the damage to their faces repaired by injections of stomach fat
Now the same treatment has been found to be effective at repairing sensitive areas of the face.
Cases of head and neck cancer in the UK are rising rapidly, with diagnoses up by 30 per cent in ten years.
One reason is thought to be the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), some strains of which can cause cancer in the mouth and throat.
However, the most common cause is smoking, accounting for 65 per cent of all oral cancers.
Typically, head and neck cancers – including tumours in the throat, lip, tongue and nasal cavity – are treated with a combination of surgery and radiotherapy. But both can leave the face hollowed and scarred.
Reconstructive cosmetic surgery requires weeks in hospital with varying results. The new fat transfer procedure takes just one hour, and the transformation can be seen immediately.
‘We are seeing a significant number of younger patients with head and neck cancer and they are acutely aware of how they look following treatment,’ says Luke Cascarini, oral and maxillofacial head and neck consultant at Guy’s and St Thomas’s NHS Trust in London.
‘Patients are incredibly grateful that you have successfully removed a cancer, but the downside can be scarring from surgery or damage to the skin.’
The fat transfer jabs are being carried out by William Townley, a plastics and reconstructive surgeon at the trust, who has so far treated around 50 patients with fat injections.
Mr Townley said: ‘We are replacing missing tissue taken away as part of the cancer and aiming to give more body back to the face and jaw.’
Fat is rich in stem cells and can morph into different, healthy cells. In this type of transplant they divide and transform into skin cells, replacing the damaged ones and ‘plumping’ up the skin.
Fat is rich in stem cells and can morph into different, healthy cells. In this type of transplant they divide and transform into skin cells, replacing the damaged ones and ‘plumping’ up the skin
After a local anaesthetic, a small incision is made into the stomach or thigh and around 120ml of fat is sucked out by a syringe.
This is placed into a centrifuge and spun to separate water and blood from the fat and stem cells, leaving a pure solution ready for infusion into the neck or face.
This solution is injected into the affected facial areas with a small needle.
Helen Lamont, a 50-year-old NHS worker from Southend in Essex, had the procedure in July 2016 after surgery to remove a tennis ball-sized tumour in her jaw, which left her face hollowed and scarred.
She said: ‘I’m very pleased with what has been achieved. I never thought anything could be done.’
10 Reasons to get an early night
1: Steer clear of infections
An early night – or going to bed an hour or two before your usual time – means you’re more likely to get an optimal eight hours sleep and boost your health. Sleep expert Eric J Olson of the Mayo Clinic explains: ‘When asleep your immune system releases proteins called cytokines which promote sleep. The body needs more cytokines when you have an infection or when you’re under stress, and sleep deprivation may decrease their production.’ Studies show levels of infection-fighting antibodies and cells fall when you don’t get enough sleep, increasing the risks of colds and flu.
2: It Prevents diabetes
Sleep regulates insulin resistance so a lack of it is associated with increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, says Dr Ann E Rogers of Emory University in the US, who warns that resistance can be quickly induced by even a single night’s total sleep loss. One study simulated the effects of the disturbed sleep patterns on shift workers on ten adults. After just four days, three of them had blood glucose levels that indicated pre-diabetes.
3: Your skin will glow
Beauty sleep is not a myth – a recent study from skincare giant Estee Lauder found those who enjoyed good quality sleep recovered more quickly from skin stressors such as sunburn than those who had poor quality sleep. The skin redness of poor sleepers remained higher over 72 hours showing inflammation was less efficiently reduced.
4: Your mind will relax
A late night can have a negative impact on your mental health, according to the journal Cognitive Therapy and Research. A study of 100 undergraduates found that going to bed late was associated with more obsessive compulsive thoughts, while lack of or disturbed sleep increased levels of the hormone cortisol, which is released when the mind and body is stressed.
5: You eat healthier
The body secretes hormones that help to control appetite, energy metabolism and glucose processing while asleep. Studies show the less sleep we have, the more likely we are to choose salty, fatty, heavily processed foods over healthier options.
6…and stop if you’re full
Lack of sleep is linked to lower levels of leptin, a hormone that alerts the brain that it has had enough food, and higher levels of ghrelin, a chemical that stimulates food cravings even after we’re full.
7: Sleep helps your heart
A study at Chicago University found a relationship between sleep quantity and the build-up of calcium in the arteries which supply the heart with blood.
For each extra hour of sleep, the risk of calcification decreased by 33 per cent – equal to reducing blood pressure by 16 points.
8: Prevent fatal accidents
The Institutes of Medicine says up to 100,000 deaths each year result from preventable medical errors – and many may be from lack of sleep.
9: Improve your performance
Stanford University studied a group of athletes who, after increasing their sleep to ten hours a night for six weeks, saw performances spike as they achieved their best-ever scores.
10: Protects you from obesity
Studies have shown those who sleep eight hours a night have the lowest body mass index (BMI), while those who sleep less than six hours per night are much more likely to have a higher than average BMI.