No abstract

Long-term contraceptive delivery devices have been shown to be beneficial to delay or stop childbearing. This work presents a novel biodegradable polymeric implant to deliver a contraceptive agent up to one year. The implant is an injectable device, designed and fabricated using biodegradable polymers with varying molecular weights, hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity, and degradation rates specifically formulated to ensure proper daily therapeutic dosage. Implantable via i n t r a -m u s c u l a r injection, the use of a novel polymer composition allows for customization of the drug delivery system and provides a flexible, yet sturdy implant that degrades as a unit, avoiding troublesome fragmenting and implant retrieval surgery post-treatment. The implant is designed to remain intact throughout the therapeutic release phase, and thereby allow for easier, intact retrieval of the implant should the patient wish to terminate contraception and get pregnant. The hybrid polymer architecture creates an economically-efficient implant system, overcoming the shortcomings of daily use methods and eliminating the need for surgical procedure removal, granting the patient contraceptive effectiveness up to a year.

No abstract

The results of this study suggest that resorbable plate placement after removal of distractors helps prevent regression in pediatric mandibular distraction osteogenesis. The improvement was readily apparent both radiographically and clinically.