Meet the inventor of the Swansea Retractor
A PLASTIC surgeon has invented a specialist instrument for use in breast reconstruction surgery – and named it after the city where he works.
Mr Muhammad Umair Javed, a consultant plastic and reconstructive breast surgeon based in the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery at Morriston Hospital, hopes the reconstructive breast surgery specific abdominal retractor – the first of its kind in the world – will improve patient safety.
The new instrument enables the surgeon to have a better view of their work, helping to avoid causing accidental injury.
Mr Javed said: “Previously, there weren’t any instruments designed for this specific operation to reconstruct a breast. In the past we used a combination of different generic instruments to push the tissue out of the way to get a better view of things.
“I thought that one instrument would be easier to use and give a better view. The Swansea Retractor reduces the number of instruments you have to use. You just put
the instrument in and it gives you enough vision to do the dissection safely. It makes dissection of the blood vessels easier. It’s all about improving the products that we have to improve patient safety. If you can see better, then you are less likely to make a mistake.”
Mr Javed, who has now shared his work with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and a medical journal called Annals of Breast Surgery, explained the invention process.
He said: “I identified the issue during my training in Morriston Hospital when I would assist my senior colleagues and saw that there was an opportunity to improve. We used a 3D printer to produce the instrument, to see how it would look, and did a lot of revisions. Next I found a company able to make the prototype for me. Like all surgical instruments, it’s made from stainless steel, which is robust and sturdy and good for longevity.
“Then I went through our research and development department and had it approved for use within Swansea Bay University Health Board.”
There is only one Swansea Retractor in use at the moment but Mr Javed hopes it will soon be commercially available and routinely used around the world.
Mr Javed praised his colleagues for supporting his work: “This achievement was not possible without the support of my colleagues Mr Mark Cooper, Mr Leong Hiew, Miss Dai Nguyen, Mr Amar Ghattaura and Mr Steve Atherton at the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery.”
Mr Javed is a recipient of several national and international awards and prizes and has fellowships in reconstructive breast and microsurgery from world-renowned plastic surgery centres in Vancouver and Adelaide.