Bone grafting, orthopaedic biomaterials, and the clinical need for bone engineering

Abstract

As the population ages, the number of operations performed on bone is expected to increase. Diseases such as arthritis, tumours, and trauma can lead to defects in the skeleton requiring an operation to replace or restore the lost bone. Surgeons can use autografts, allografts, and/or bone graft substitutes to restore areas of bone loss. Surgical implants are also used in addition or in isolation to replace the diseased bone. This review considers the application of available bone grafts in different clinical settings. It also discusses recently introduced bioactive biomaterials and highlights the clinical difficulties and technological deficiencies that exist in our current surgical practice.

A 2‐D continuum model of a mixture of bone tissue and bio‐resorbable material for simulating mass density redistribution under load slowly variable in time

“…This is confirmed by the experimental findings of Mullender et al, in human bone cells, that strain applied through the substrate and fluid flow stimulate the release of signaling molecules to varying extents [42]. A topical and intriguing problem concerns the study referring to a bio-resorbable material that upon placement within the human body starts to dissolve (resorbed) and is slowly replaced by advancing bone tissue [9]. Common examples of bio-resorbable materials are tricalcium phosphate [Ca 3 (PO 4 ) 2 ] and polylactic-polyglycolic acid resulting from 2D interactions are being discovered and examined which may not be present in 1D case so more realistic situations are approached and discussed.…”

Survey of Current and Prospective Approaches in Bone Grafting Technology

“…The internal architecture of the graft must be porous enough to encourage the infiltration of vasculature and stem cells but strong enough to withstand the mechanical forces required of bone. Since natural sources of bone (autograft and allograft) already have the biological scaffold needed to promote the later steps of graft union they are typically highly osteoconductive [6]. Artificial scaffolds attempt to imitate the natural bone but often struggle to accurately mimic the architecture necessary for the later stages of bone healing [8].…”

Vreden Russian Research Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics

“…Адаптация каждой кости к определенной роли привела к изменению ее размера, формы и ком-позиции. при выборе костнопластического ма-териала хирург должен оценить не только функ-цию кости и состояние окружающих тканей, но и учесть следующие факторы [9]: 1) предполагаемое клиническое применение; 2) размер дефекта и необходимое количе-ство материала;…”