[civilian_number_two]

Stem cells used for 'natural' boob jobs

By John Stapleton
February 12, 2007 09:06am

WOMEN may be able to undergo a "natural" form of breast enlargement using their own stem cells and fat.

The technique, pioneered in Japan, results in breasts that look and feel smoother than conventional cosmetic surgery using implants.

Stem cells, which have the potential to change into any cells in the body, are found in embryos, but the most plentiful supply in adults is from body fat. When body fat is transferred to the breasts, the stem cells enable the fat to grow its own blood supply, thus becoming an integral part of the breast rather than a foreign object.

Dozens of women in Japan have received the enlargements during trials. This month, German authorities gave approval to the process. Under EU rules, this means that the procedure is now legal throughout Europe, including Britain.

But Australian women may have to wait for the procedure to become widely available because of litigation concerns.

Michael Zacharia, president of the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery, said the technique could make the detection of subsequent breast cancer more difficult.

While the procedure "gives a very nice natural result", he said it could be hard to determine whether changes occurring in a breast were as a result of cancer or the fat transfer.

"Medical insurance companies just refuse to cover it," he said.

In a separate development, scientists have unearthed a genetic mutation that gives one in four women a small shield against breast cancer.

...

More on the separate development here:

http://www.news.com....1-36398,00.html

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My comment: What's awesome about this story is not only that the procedure has been approved despite a serious risk to future cancer detection, but also that a separate story about an improvement in breast cancer treatment follows. Like, big boobs is news, and breast cancer treatment is the B story.

Lordy.

[barend]

Michael Zacharia, president of the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery, said the technique could make the detection of subsequent breast cancer more difficult.

so, what, current implants make it easy to detect?


(also wheres the news code?)

[banned]

I thought stem cell stuff was banned or something... although I don't really pay much attention.

[Slade]

Why cure cancer when we can give women more boob jobs and make cancer harder to detect?

I love how someone actually asked insurance companies about them covering the procedure. Insurance isn't supposed to pay for frivolous cosmetic surgeries, idiots.

Edit: Hmm. An alliterative title... Bumbling Boobs Bury Cancer Beneath Bigger Boobs?

[Spoon Poetic]

Wow... Gross. Okay, I totally understand women getting breast reductions. Really big boobs can injure your back, for just one reason. But I've never understood the appeal of making boobs bigger. One of the great things about boobs is that they're all so unique! Bigger isn't always better. Being confident in what you have naturally is so much sexier than surgically altering yourself to fit into what you think is society's idea of "hot."
So this disgusts me even more.

If there were a relatively safe procedure that made penises bigger and still functional, would guys go for it as often as women go for boob jobs? (Assuming the risks, price range, effectiveness, etc. are all similar.)

[Deepsycher]

Insurances are good at taking advantage.
Right down below the decimal place of your weight.

Now they are treating people interested in a safetly proven idea worse than potential smokers or fat people.

Hello I got cancer and if I don't get treatment it will become terminal.
According to our records you had stem cell treatment for breast growth which our policy doesn't cover.
Your policy didn't state that when we signed the agreement.
The treatment was unheard of then it is now a new policy. You see the stem cells could have triggered the cancer off.
So you are blaming my breast treatment?
Well we won't be sure for certain but we got to make sure that we don't pay out for the wrong things or cause.
I have breast cancer, I a loyal member paying into the scheme for years without making any claims, this policy was not stated in your agreement and I was not notified about it before my treatment. All the same I need funding for treatment. I have a good chance of recovering. I won't be able to afford this treatment on my own since I paid that money into your insurance.
That is your fault not ours you should have asked first.
I was not told or told to ask. So it's policies instead of people?
LOOK! We are very busy important people, low staff, underpaid, under stress and we have the mass majority to serve, why should YOU! be any DIFFERENT?
Hey that isn't my problem. My problem is my health and right now that is more important. I paid all my health money to you for a rainy day and when I need crucial treatment for the first time you are leaving me to become terminally ill? You have the mass majority to take for granted and all you do is shower policies in their way.
Well we have strict policies and guidelines to follow sorry can't help you. There is nothing I can do and there is nothing you can do.
See you in court!
Hangs up


Can you see this happening?

This post has been edited by Deepsycher: 12 February 2007 - 09:10 PM

[Spoon Poetic]

Sure can. Yuck. Insurance companies suck.

[Supes]

If there were a relatively safe procedure that made penises bigger and still functional, would guys go for it as often as women go for boob jobs? (Assuming the risks, price range, effectiveness, etc. are all similar.)

I'd have to say that the answer is probably yes. Personally I happen to be of the same opinion as yourself with regards to enhancment and augmentation but the general idea that bigger is better applies to penis' as much as it does to breasts. You can be sure there would be a steady line up of guys looking to get that Ron Jeremy treatment. He's the living example that size counts, cause lets face it, that's one unattractive man otherwise (perhaps regardless).

[Slade]

Yes, insurance companies can suck. Just ask my friend's friend Allan. But they don't deny money for existing conditions that they don't like that don't themselves put one at risk.

Spoon: Sad, but probably true. I agree with you on the whole enhancement thing, and there's this stupid OH NOES, MY TEH PEN1S NEEDS MOAR! zeitgeist that leaves many men feeling insecure when they don't need to. Size is good for the porn industry, yes, but I like to think that more women are above stupid concerns like penis size. There's a physically too small point due to the position of nerves inside the female and stuff if one's concerned about the pleasure during coitus (and we're people; it's a big part of why we do it unless we're brought up conservative and have no counterpoint to supressing one of our instincts), but I doubt most women enjoy being impaled and having their cervix rammed by someone particularly well-endowed.

[Gobbler]

... and there's this stupid OH NOES, MY TEH PEN1S NEEDS MOAR! zeitgeist-

Whuh? You English speaking types say Zeitgeist, too?

Cool. *adds "Zeitgeist" to the list, next to "Blitzkrieg", "Kindergarten", "Kinder Surprise" and "Gesundheit"*

And now for the off-topic question of all questions:

How do you pronounce it?

Oh yeah and, great post, very... eidetic.

This post has been edited by Gobbler: 13 February 2007 - 09:17 AM

[Spoon Poetic]

What's "Kinder Surprise?"

And yeah, women should be better than to obsess over men's penis size. But men should also be better than to want women to have huge boobs... Somehow, I think that if every woman in the world didn't care what size penises were, men would still want bigger penises. Whereas, conversely, if no man cared how big boobs were, women wouldn't care either, as they'd have no reason to make life more difficult on themselves by biggifying their boobs.

[Slade]

I like the word zeitgeist. Part of it is probably my experience with the old german idealists in philosophy courses, and some psychology, and it's just cooler than saying "spirit of the times" or "overall culture" or whatever.

I pronounce both ei's as hard I's in english, and the G is hard.

Spoon: Why would men want bigger penises if not to impress their women? Would they just want to brag to their other guy friends about something rendered meaningless?

[Spoon Poetic]

Same reason they buy bigger and bigger trucks to brag to their friends about. The ladies could care less if their truck's an F-150 or an F-350. Guys brag about and compare their penises to each other all the time, even before they're interested in sex.

[Gobbler]

I feel like I should point out that this is hardly as despicable as you're trying to make it appear, since nature somehow dictates that kind of behaviour. Just like it tells women that bigger breasts = more children to feed. And the macho-method works. Just compare Johnny Depp to Steve Ballmer. Same principle.

Alrighty, I think left enough flaws in that paragraph to keep the discussion alive.

[Cyzyk]

I think there's only one reason why breast enlargement is a good thing. It ensures plastic surgeons get plenty of practice before they have to reassemble major accident victims.

Apart from that, it's a bad idea.