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A new study assesses the safety and efficacy of a non-surgical breast augmentation procedure in which a hyaluronic acid-based gel called Macrolane is injected into the breast to enhance it.

Macrolane is made by Q-Med, the makers of Restylane, and is a gel that adds volume to tissues and can be used for restoring and enhancing body contours or for filling concave deformities and scars. It provides results without open surgery and the scarring at the injection site is minor and is likely to become less noticeable with time, according to Q-Med.

Macrolane is used in Europe but is not yet approved for use in the U.S., and it has been “well established for use in aesthetic facial procedures” according to the study, which was published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery journal. A new formulation of the gel may make it suitable for breast enhancement as well.

The study was done in Sweden with twenty women who received injections of the gel under local anesthesia. The study found high subject improvement rates, 83 percent,  for breast appearance six months post-treatment. At 12 months after treatment, 69 percent of breasts were still considered improved. The decline in satisfaction after a year is not surprising because the results with the gel are not permanent. Those looking for permanent enhancement may be better off considering traditional surgical enhancement with breast implants.

The highest levels of satisfaction were observed in relation to the shape and general appearance of the breast, although comparable trends were also noted for size and firmness, according to the study.

The researchers concluded that “NASHA-based gel is a new option for the patient population who desire aesthetic improvement of the breast but who do not want to undergo surgery.” They also wrote that further studies with larger numbers of patients are warranted.

Could breast augmentation and reconstruction lead the way to regenerative medicine? An article in the latest issue of Wired magazine reports on Cytori Therapeutics, a company that is trying to use stem cells from fat to help the body rebuild itself. CEO Chris Calhoun says his firm has figured out a way to augment breasts using stem cell–enriched fat tissue.

Cytori’s process for breast augmentation or breast reconstruction involves using liposuction to get fat cells (usually from the abdomen); then the fat is injected into the company’s Celution System where a centrifuge separates the fat cells from the stem and regenerative cells and prepares the cells for injection. Finally, a surgeon injects the cells into the breast for the augmentation or reconstructive procedure.

The cells don’t work by actually becoming breast tissue; rather the fat cells in the mixture provide volume and the regenerative cells encourage the growth of a blood supply that the fat cells need to survive.

Why has Cytori chosen to focus its technology on breasts? Since they don’t have much function beyond nursing a baby, “the scientific and regulatory hurdles to getting Cytori’s cells into clinical use will be easier to clear for breasts than for other tissue: Breasts simply aren’t as necessary as other organs, so the bar for proving to regulators that the technology works will be lower,” according to the article.

The company has completed almost a decade of trials on cell cultures, lab rodents and now humans. Cytori believes the same technology it is using for breast procedures could be used to regenerate other damaged tissue, such as in the heart or kidneys.

However, Cytori’s system has not been FDA approved, so it can’t be marketed in the U.S., although doctors can purchase it.