9 - Bioactive materials in plastic surgery and body reconstruction

Abstract

Bioactive materials have found wide application in plastic surgery and body reconstruction, including tissue augmentation, craniofacial reconstruction by utilisation of bone and skin substitutes and soft-tissue fillers, wound repair, and scar-reduction technologies. Limitations include the supply of blood to the matrix for tissue repair, the general issues associated with the tissue engineering when cell therapy is used, the optimisation of the mechanical properties of the biomaterials, and the understanding of the mechanism of implant failure during the product’s life cycle. Future trends include the development of new technology to create a biomatrix for tissue repair, the introduction of new bioactive entities with specific functions for tissue repair, the development of new versatile bioactive materials to achieve balanced mechanical properties and functionality, or the delivery of cells or genes to enhance the tissue repair.