Alexandre G. Lellouch

I am currently a Board-certified plastic surgeon in Paris and co-investigator / Lecturer at MGH/ Harvard. I have extensive experience with reconstructive microsurgery. I am working with Pr. Laurent Lantieri, Hospital George Pompidou, Paris and Dr Curtis Cetrulo, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. The hand and face transplantation as clinical options in the treatment of severely injured and disfigured patients led to an interest in the field of reconstructive transplantation. Vascularized Composite allograft (VCA) has emerged in recent years as the most promising treatment option for many patients afflicted with soft tissue defects that cannot be satisfactorily reconstructed using contemporary techniques. Moreover, VCA has overtaken tissue engineering by becoming a clinically viable option. Unfortunately, the prognostic in the long term is compromised due to the ineluctable development of chronic rejection and the absence of treatment available. To overcome this issue, I had the pleasure to collaborate with Drs. Uygun (Korkut and Basak), Dr Benichou and Dr. Cetrulo to work on the decellularization technology, perfusion machine and induction of tolerance protocols. We have concluded that VCA will produce the biggest breakthrough, provided the associated immunological concerns can be adequately addressed.