Will breast implants become obsolete? Will stem cell therapies soon play a major role in how breasts are reconstructed after mastectomy, how wounds and wrinkles are treated and how we age? These and other topics will be discussed at the Technology Innovation in Plastic Surgery (TIPS) conference, to be held June 17-19, 2011, in San Francisco. TIPS is hosted by the Plastic Surgery Foundation (PSF), the educational and research arm of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

The conference, which will be held at The Palace Hotel, will bring together more than 250 doctors, industry leaders, researchers and investors in the field of plastic surgery to discuss the pros, cons, safety, and effectiveness of emerging technologies, products, and procedures in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery in an unbiased format.

"TIPS is the only forum where physicians and industry can come together to determine which new products or techniques work and which ones don’t," says Geoffrey Gurtner, MD, TIPS course director, Stanford University School of Medicine, California. "We will discuss the next generation of technology to improve patient outcomes and results."

Topics presented at TIPS include the following:

        Fat and stem cells to treat wrinkles and restore volume
        Non-invasive body contouring
        Skin resurfacing and tightening
        Injectable fillers, topical agents, tissue regeneration for facial rejuvenation
        Fat grafting for breast augmentation and the future of breast implants
        Cell based therapies/tissue engineering to treat wounds

"There’s growing patient demand for innovative procedures and we do not want patients to be disappointed by new, lack luster, technologies," says ASPS Vice President of Education Gregory Evans, MD, a TIPS course co-director, University of California, Irvine, Orange, California. "This will be an opportunity for plastic surgeons to critique products and challenge industry, as well as, provide direct feedback on what patients are requesting from the front line. This sort of exchange will help foster the next big item in the plastic surgery market."

More.

[Source: SFgate.com]