Women who face breast reconstruction after cancer surgery are being offered a boost by a mesh implant that acts like ‘an internal bra’.

The material, commonly used in hernia-repair operations, is shaped into an internal cup around the breast where it acts as a scaffold for new soft tissue to grow on, effectively encouraging the body to build its own supportive tissue.

The body absorbs the mesh over time, but the new tissue grown around it ends up three to five times stronger than tissue that the body would have produced on its own.

Women who face breast reconstruction after cancer surgery are being offered a boost by a mesh implant that acts like ‘an internal bra’

The implant is used to help cancer survivors who have had to have either partial or full mastectomies during reconstructive surgery, as well as in aesthetic augmentations and breast lifts.

GalaFlex is made from lab-grown fibres knitted into a lattice mesh, and moulded into a cup-shape.

The mesh is implanted by a surgeon either as part of a post-cancer reconstruction or cosmetic surgery, essentially creating a bra under the skin.

The mesh is broken down, absorbed and excreted by the body over 18 to 24 months.

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