New studies into regenerative 3D-printed breast implants present huge potential for the future of implants. 3D-printed breast implants are bio-ink-printed implants formed to your body with dissolvable structures that house healthy tissue and grow to fill the implant. The intended result is your natural breast. But how far are we from seeing these at market? Are they still a fantasy? With all the buzz around breakthroughs in this technology, let’s pause to take stock of where we currently stand in making these implants a reality.
Featured Experts
- Robert Singer, MD is a board-certified plastic surgeon based in San Diego, CA
- Lily Lee, MD is a board-certified plastic surgeon based in Pasadena, CA
- Mark Jewell, MD is a board-certified plastic surgeon based in Eugene, OR
Are 3D-Printed Breast Implants a Reality?
The quick answer is not yet, but it’s a work in progress.
“The idea of placing a bioengineered scaffold (3D-printed or not) that stimulates tissue regeneration is not that new,” explains plastic surgeon Lily Lee, MD. The first organ made through 3D-printed scaffolding was in 1999 when researchers engineered a bladder. But it wasn’t until 2022 that French scientists from Lattice Medical began their first clinical trial of a 3D-printed breast implant. Designed for breast cancer patients who have undergone a mastectomy, these implants have a scaffolded shell that houses healthy tissue. That tissue will slowly grow to fill the shell and the shell itself will fully dissolve to produce a natural result.
The Lattice Medical trial is set to end in 2025 and was conducted on 50 breast cancer patients. That means that even if the results are promising, we’re still a while away from 3D-printed breast implants becoming a commercial option.
Another company, Bella Seno, based in Leipzig, Germany also has a clinical trial underway to test their version of a 3-D printed prosthesis that is combined with the patient’s own fat that is injected around the absorbable scaffold.
“I think that Bella Seno is further along in its clinical research with 12 month data that was presented at the ASPS meeting in San Diego, CA in September 2024,” says Eugene, OR plastic surgeon Mark Jewell, MD. “The data showed excellent clinical outcomes, no complications, and a high degree of patient satisfaction from their device.”
New Study Explores Potential of Regenerating Implants
The latest pre-clinical study to investigate the potential for regenerating implants is created by CollPlant in partnership with U.S. 3D printing company Stratasys. The goal is to see if their plant-based rhCollagen implant can regenerate natural breast tissue without prompting an immune response. Their rhCollagen is bioidentical to type one collagen that we produce, so the thinking is that our bodies will recognize these 3D-printed breast implants as a part of us rather than a foreign object.
Results from this study are expected in 2025. Notably, since this is a pre-clinical study, we’re a significant way off from being able to choose these rhCollagen 3D-printed breast implants.
Where Are We Now?
Unsurprisingly, we’re still in the study phase. But those studies are pretty promising so far.
“The preliminary data from BellaSeno looks like its absorbable scaffold and fat grafts gives great clinical outcomes and excellent patient satisfaction,” Dr. Jewell notes. “What is so unique about the scaffold is that it gives form and shape to the breast, far better than just fat grafts alone.”
“We’re very early in this process,” says San Diego, CA plastic surgeon Robert Singer, MD. “It’s certainly interesting, but we’re a long way from this being released to the public. Years, in fact.”
“The field of burn surgery has been trying to regenerate skin for half a century with only modest success,” Dr. Lee notes. “There has been decent success in building new ears (microtia) with such a 3D bio-engineered scaffold.”
The field of regenerative medicine is advancing by leaps and bounds, but the safety part of science is intentionally slow. As these studies begin, you can expect to keep seeing more news of 3D-printed breast implants and organs. However, these studies will need to be repeated in many more women before being brought to market.
“I think this is super exciting to dream about,” says Dr. Lee. “But the reality of a 3D-printed bio-engineered breast implant that would stimulate growth of a natural looking and feeling breast that is safe is quite a long way off.”
