Stem Cells from Fat Used to Grow Teen’s Missing Facial Bones

Stem cells so far have been used to mend tissues ranging from damaged hearts to collapsed tracheas. Now the multifaceted cells have proved successful at regrowing bone in humans. In the first procedure of its kind, doctors at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center replaced a 14-year-old boy’s missing cheekbones — in part by repurposing stem cells from his own body. The technique, should it be approved for widespread use, could benefit some seven million people in the US who need more bone–everyone from cancer patients to injured war veterans