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Research Program

The laboratory for the Division of Plastic Surgery at the University of California, Irvine is currently investigating novel ways to replace tissue through application of tissue engineering.

The laboratory for the Division of Plastic Surgery at the University of California, Irvine is currently investigating novel ways to replace tissue through application of tissue engineering.  Trauma, congenital abnormalities, and cancer surgery can cause devastating functional and aesthetic defects and deformities that negatively impact the daily life of individuals.  The Division of Plastic Surgery seeks to restore the quality of life to these individuals.  Current techniques frequently involve the transfer of tissue from one body location to another.  These transfers can often cause problems at the donor site, which can be equally detrimental.  However, this principle of robbing Peter to pay Paul is currently the only way we can restore tissue for recovery.  However, what would happen if we could go to the laboratory and grow tissue?  Sound far fetched? The field of Tissue Engineering has made significant strides over the last decade.  Initially coined in the late 1980’s, the field of Tissue Engineering seeks to find biological substitutes to restore and establish those tissues which fortune has taken away. 

The laboratory is currently focusing on nerve, bone, cartilage and skin replacements.   With collaborations between the Center for Biomedical Engineering, the Reeves Research institute, the Departments of Biology and Molecular Biology, constructs composed of cellular and biodegradable materials are being fabricated for tissue reconstruction.  The collaborations with industry form a circle between the areas of industry, clinic science and basic science.  It is the interaction that advances the science of tissue engineering going from the laboratory to clinical products.  

There are approximately 8,000,000 surgical procedures performed annually in the United States to treat tissue and organ deficiencies, and these associated medical costs exceed $400 billion annually.  Tissue engineering has great potential in extending the quality of life and reducing the cost of health care. Our current technology for nerve repair using autologous nerve grafts is limited by the availability of donor tissue and its related morbidity. Tissue engineering holds promise in the treatment of nerve defects following surgical ablation and injury by reducing the current limitations.

Congenital disorders, oncologic surgery, and trauma often leave patients with large bony defects that require reconstruction.  Development of an effective bone substitute for the repair of these defects has been a difficult goal to achieve.  Present materials and processes have not resulted in a bone substitute capable of repairing large bony defects.  The current challenge is to create a readily available, implantable bone substitute that will result in tissue that ultimately functions as true bone tissue.  In order to perform this task, the material from which to fabricate the bone substitute must be chosen carefully.  Resorbable polymer materials hold the most promise for this purpose.