Stem Cells Promise New Way to Deal with Cleft Lip, Palate

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Posted on: Mon 08-10-2018
A new technique using stem cells from umbilical cord promises new approach to help surgeons repair cleft palate.   Cleft of the lip and palate—when either or both the lips and palate fail to close properly—occurs in around one in every 2703, births according to some studies.   Studies emphasise early primary repair and also show late repairs are less likely to produce better outcomes.   The technique using stem cells from umbilical cord for reconstructive surgery was reported in the  Journal of Craniofacial Surgery.   Used in surgery when the infant is a few months, the stem cell procedure helps grow new bone to close cleft in the upper jaw—and may even avoid the need for later bone graft surgery, according to the case report by Alejandro Garcia Botero, of Hospital De San José, Bogota, Colombia, and colleagues.   The case report was based on a baby girl with an alveolar cleft—a birth defect that caused an opening in the bone of her upper jaw where teeth are located.   Immediately after her birth, doctors took a sample of blood from her umbilical cord and isolated stem cells, which they then processed and froze to preserve them for later use.   The blood from umbilical cord is a rich source of various types of stem cells. Stem cells have the potential to develop into many different types of specialised cells, even bones and cartilages.   “Since the age is that of the newborn, [umbilical cord stem cells] have a greater potential to regenerate the organism,” Dr. Botero and coauthors write.   For the first few months, the doctors, without surgery shaped the area to align with the soft tissues of her upper jaw.   When she turned five months, her doctors thawed the stem cells and used them in “boneless bone grafting” surgery. The cells were placed in a pocket of soft tissue bridging the gap in the upper jaw.   A small piece of absorbable biomaterial was used as scaffold to guide growth of new bone across the cleft palate. This procedure was performed at the same time as surgery to correct the cleft lip.   Follow-up confirmed formation of new bone to close the cleft palate, providing good position and support for normal eruption of the teeth, the researchers reported.   Imaging scans when the patient was five years old showed good thickness of the upper jaw bone in the area where the cleft had been.   By: Judd-Leonard Okafor Daily Trust News

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