Women only grow breasts at one point during their lifetime, and until now the loss of a breast has meant reconstructive surgery, which uses relocated tissue or prosthetics.

However, it may soon be possible for women around the world who have endured mastectomies to regrow their breasts with little more than their own cells. In fact, it’s already been successfully tested in the UK and Australia, and it’s all thanks to stem cells.

Stem cells have the ability to regenerate tissue and can transform into different types of cells. For this surgery, stem cells are drawn from the patient’s own body and cultured in a laboratory.

Afterward, they are combined with fat removed from the patient’s thigh or stomach, and then injected into the patient’s breast along with a plastic mold implanted beneath the patient’s skin. Researchers found that the stem cells would assist in the creation of new breast tissue over the months following the surgery. Eventually the plastic mould is removed.

Besides replacing breasts removed by mastectomy, this technique could have numerous applications in cosmetic breast surgery, as patients who do not wish to have saline or silicone implants will have a new alternative available. According to the Sunday Express, this procedure has already proven successful for British and Australian patients.

“There are a lot of women who don’t have reconstructive surgery for whatever reason or have silicone breast implants but this will give them their own tissue back,” says Professor Wayne Morrison of Melbourne University, who has successfully performed the technique on two patients. “We hope the technology will have a significant impact around the world.”

However, it will take some years before stem-cell breast regrowth can be approved for use within the United States, says CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton. “Right now, in this country, this is not FDA-approved. There are no clinical trials going on yet. But [experts] are very hopeful that, in the next five years, we can see this being done in this country.”