CRISPR gene editing may have applications in plastic and reconstructive surgery

A paper published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), has outlined potential implcations CRISPR genome editing techniques in the field. Describing it as a “transformative leap” in genetic engineering and therapy, affecting almost every area of medicine, the paper sugests potential advances in plastic surgery could range from prevention of craniofacial malformations, to therapeutic skin grafts, to new types of rejection-free transplants. 

“CRISPR’s potential impact on treating human disease includes several areas important to the plastic surgeon such as oncology, wound healing, immunology, and craniofacial malformations,” comments ASPS Member Surgeon Eric Chien-Wei Liao, MD, PhD, of Harvard Medical School. In a special regenerative medicine article, Dr. Liao and coauthors review the history and mechanisms of CRISPR genome editing, highlighting its potential uses and impact in plastic and reconstructive surgery.