Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine in Craniofacial Reconstruction and Facial Aesthetics

Abstract

The craniofacial region is anatomically complex and is of critical functional and cosmetic importance, making reconstruction challenging. The limitations of current surgical options highlight the importance of developing new strategies to restore the form, function, and esthetics of missing or damaged soft tissue and skeletal tissue in the face and cranium. Regenerative medicine (RM) is an expanding field which combines the principles of tissue engineering (TE) and self-healing in the regeneration of cells, tissues, and organs, to restore their impaired function. RM offers many advantages over current treatments as tissue can be engineered for specific defects, using an unlimited supply of bioengineered resources, and does not require immunosuppression. In the craniofacial region, TE and RM are being increasingly used in preclinical and clinical studies to reconstruct bone, cartilage, soft tissue, nerves, and blood vessels. This review outlines the current progress that has been made toward the engineering of these tissues for craniofacial reconstruction and facial esthetics.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Midface Trauma in the Context of Polytrauma: Characteristics during COVID-19 Pandemic Conditions

“…• Preservation of blood supply-it is achieved by gentle handling and reduction of bone and soft tissue and by careful cold irrigation during the drilling phase, which must be performed at low rotation less than 1500 rpm to prevent the overheating of the bone structures. Good-quality instruments and osteosynthesis materials are mandatory [36].…”

Advanced Biomaterials and Techniques for Oral Tissue Engineering and Regeneration—A Review

“…Tissue engineering can be used to regenerate tissue for specific defects, which represents a major advantage compared with other current treatments which have numerous disadvantages for patients like loss of sensorial and motor functionalities of craniofacial structures due to prosthetic alloplastic materials, high risk of infection, inflammation, requirement for lifelong immunosuppression, or unpredictable compatibility with the donor in the case of autologous grafts. Additionally, the unlimited available bioengineered resources do not require immunosuppression [ 3 ]. Tissue engineering is classically based on three pillars: (a) the cells (stem cells/progenitor cells), responsible for synthesizing the new tissue matrix; (b) the signaling/growth factors necessary to promote and facilitate the functionalities; (c) the biomaterial scaffolds, necessary for cell differentiation, multiplication, and biosynthesis, that act as an extracellular matrix (ECM) ( Figure 1 ).…”

Stem Cells Regenerating the Craniofacial Skeleton: Current State-Of-The-Art and Future Directions

“…Regenerative medicine and surgery, coupled with advances in materials science and tissue engineering, form an alliance of emerging interdisciplinary fields that combine the principles of cellular and molecular biology and biomedical engineering to support intrinsic healing and replace or regenerate cells, tissues, or organs, with the restoration of impaired function. These innovative biotechnologies support natural tissue regeneration processes through the use of cells, natural or synthetic scaffolding biomaterials, growth factors, protein replacement therapeutics, genetic engineering, or a combination of these interventions [ 1 ]. Stem cells for use in regenerative medicine and surgery are typically isolated, expanded, differentiated ex vivo, seeded onto scaffolds, and reinserted into the defected areas in combination with tissue-specific growth factors to aid their biocompatibility [ 2 ].…”