The CRISPR genome editing technique promises to be a “transformative leap” in genetic engineering and therapy, affecting almost every area of medicine. That includes plastic surgery, with potential advances ranging from prevention of craniofacial malformations, to therapeutic skin grafts, to new types of rejection-free transplants, according to a paper in the November issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
“CRISPR’s potential impact on treating human disease includes several areas important to the plastic surgeon such as oncology, wound healing, immunology, and craniofacial malformations,” comments ASPS Member Surgeon Eric Chien-Wei Liao, MD, PhD, Director of the Cleft and Craniofacial Program, Laurie and Mason Tenaglia MGH Research Scholar, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
