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Stem Cells, Breast Reconstruction and a Magazine Cover

Wired, November 2010 issue

The cover of the November print edition of Wired fea­tures large, unnatural-​​​​appearing cleavage. Inside and toward the back of the issue, a curious article ties together stem cells and the future of breast recon­struction. It got my attention.

Wired, November 2010 issue

The detailed and admit­tedly inter­esting piece, by Sharon Begley, describes what’s science or science fiction: first humans, such as some plastic sur­geons, remove adipose tissue, a.k.a. fat, by a well-​​​​established cos­metic surgery pro­cedure called lipo­suction, from a body part where there’s a fat surplus — such as the belly or backside; next, lab­o­ratory workers purify and grow what are said to be stem cells from that that fat; finally, they use a nifty, cal­i­brated and expensive device to inject those fatty stem cells where women want, such as in a hole or dimpled breast where a tumor’s been removed.

The story starts, unfor­tu­nately and dis­tract­ingly, with a

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