NCT05451108

Pectus Excavatum Camouflage

A Clinical Trial Evaluating Medical-Grade Polycaprolactone-PCL Pectus Scaffold Implantation With Autologous Fat Grafting for Pectus Excavatum Camouflage

• Status: Active Not Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 7 (actual)
• Sponsor: BellaSeno Pty Ltd · Industry
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 54 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The clinical study is testing a new treatment for pectus excavatum called "custom-made 3D printed scaffold-based soft tissue reconstruction". The new method uses a combination of the patients own adipocytes (fat cells) with a 3D printed scaffold (PCL Pectus Scaffold) to support soft tissue regeneration in the patient's chest using the body's natural healing processes. The implanted scaffold acts as a resorbable frame to support the growth of cells. The substance used for the scaffold is resorbable, it's similar to the substance used for sutures and stitches, and it's already Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved for bone reconstruction of the skull. The implanted scaffold degrades over time, leaving the tissue in its place.

Detailed description

A 3D printed scaffold made of medical grade polycaprolactone is planned to be implanted to correct pectus excavatum defects. First the patient will be thoroughly evaluated with history taking, examination and medical imaging to determine whether they are suitable for implantation. Imaging will take place as part of the work-up for the trial in the form of a CT scan and MRI. If the patient is deemed suitable for the trial, a custom-made scaffold for the patient chest wall defect is designed based on the medical imaging attained previously. This scaffold is then manufactured and sterilised, before being implanted. The implantation surgery will be done at a tertiary teaching hospital by an experienced plastic and reconstructive surgeon. During the implantation procedure, the patient's own fat cells are harvested through simple liposuction techniques, usually from the abdomen and thighs depending on the availability of the tissue. The fat cells that are harvested are then injected into the implanted scaffold at the time of implantation. The total length of procedure is estimated to take 1 hour. The patients progress will be evaluated daily after the procedure while they are in hospital with clinical assessment of the wounds and overall status. On discharge a number of surveys will be performed to document the progress at regular intervals, as well as recurrent MRI studies. The effectiveness, complications and side-effects will be monitored for up to two years. All appointments and clinical assessment will be documented in the electronic patient medical record as well as a secure de-identified trial database.

Conditions

• Pectus Excavatum

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	PCL Pectus Scaffold implantation and autologous fat grafting	A small incision is made in the chest and pre-sternal pocked is defined. Following this, an empty scaffold is implanted at the site of the defect with skin closed directly over it. At the same stage, autologous fat transfer will be performed, harvesting fat from available donor sites such as the thighs and abdomen - depending on scaffold volume and patient morphology. The area will be infiltrated with local anaesthetic tumescent fluid, liposuction performed, and fat transferred to syringes for filtration prior to injection into the scaffold. Fat will not be processed beyond simple filtration to separate liquid from fat to be injected. The scaffold provides structural stability to the chest during the infiltration of the tissue inside the scaffold.

Timeline

• Start date: 2021-12-14
• Primary completion: 2026-01-01
• Completion: 2026-01-01
• First posted: 2022-07-11
• Last updated: 2025-02-07

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Australia