A 65 year old man receives a new upper jaw that was created from his own stem cells.

This article was originally published in February 2008 but it still receives attention for its uniqueness and the application of adult stem cells. The 65 year old Finnish patient had his upper jaw removed as a result of a benign tumor. He was unable to eat or speak without the use of prosthesis. Most current microvascular techniques available to reconstruct this patient would require a second operative site to obtain enough bone and soft tissue to restore adequate function. This additional surgery would have left the patient with a painful donor site along with the risk for nerve injury and other complications related to the harvest of this graft. Instead, a custom designed 3D scaffold made out of a calcium phosphate biomaterial was created for this patient. The Doctors elected to use fat (adipose) as their source for stem cells. Adipose stem cells are usually recovered through a liposuction procedure. In the laboratory the stem cells were expanded in growth culture medium that included the patient’s own blood serum. After two weeks, a sufficient quantity of mesenchymal stem cells was grown to cover the custom scaffold. This was surgically placed inside the patient's abdomen to grow for nine months. The cells turned into a variety of tissues and even produced blood vessels, the researchers said.

After 9 months the block of tissue was harvested and transplanted using microvascular techniques. The new jaw bone was attached to the patient’s skull using titanium plates and screws. The blood vessels supplying the new jaw were connected to arteries and veins in the patient’s neck.

Since this transplanted jaw was created from the patient’s own stem cells no donor graft was used. There have been a couple of similar-sounding procedures before, but these didn't use the patient's own stem cells that were first cultured and expanded in the laboratory and differentiated into bone tissue. Presently in other medical institutions, stem cells from teeth are being utilized as a source for stem cells in craniofacial and maxillofacial reconstructions. StemSave, Inc. www.StemSave.com provides for the transport and cryopreservation of an individual’s own stem cells recovered during a planned dental procedure. Stem cells that were recovered at the time of extraction of wisdom teeth, baby teeth or other healthy permanent teeth could be a valuable source for future regenerative therapies.