Researchers at the University of Bristol, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), have developed ‘stem cell plasters’ to revolutionize the way surgeons treat children living with congenital heart disease, so they don’t need as many open-heart operations.
BHF Professor Massimo Caputo has developed a stem cell patch to repair abnormalities to the valve in the large blood vessel that controls blood flow from the heart to the lungs, and to mend holes between the two main pumping chambers of the heart.
The stem cell plasters are designed to be sewn into the area of the child’s heart that needs repairing during surgery. The stem cells could then boost the repair of heart tissue without being rejected by the child’s body.
These patches have the potential to adapt and grow with the child’s heart as they get older, removing the need for repetitive heart surgeries and the many days at hospital recovering after each one.
