AirXpanders (ASX: AXP) - Big step forward for patients, potentially big money for investors

Some of the greatest healthcare plays I know involve a new product that is not only safe and effective but replace a current treatment modality best described as 'brutal'. AirXpanders (ASX: AXP), a >A$270m company which went public on ASX in 2015, is a great example. This company's AeroForm technology is a needle-free, wireless tissue expander system for women undergoing reconstructive surgery following a mastectomy. Frankly, it's the best thing to have happened in the field since the 1960s. Up until now women getting ready for reconstructive surgery have had to endure regular painful injections of saline over a 4-6 month period. With AeroForm, which uses a gradual release of compressed gas, it takes a mere 17 days. Unlike saline, there are no needles, it's patient-controlled, requires minimal office visits and even achieves the right anatomical shape ahead of the surgery. >100,000 breast reconstruction procedures are performed annually in the US alone so the market opportunity is significant. Australian and European approvals have been achieved. FDA approval is pending. A big step forward for patients, potentially big money for investors.