Polylactic Acid Plates Research Articles

Hydroxyapatite Film Formation on Polylactic Acid Plate by Aerosol Beam Irradiation

A coating technology was developed to form hydroxyapatite (HAp) films on polylactic acid (PLA) plates by aerosol beam irradiation. The aerosol beam was composed of HAp particles of submicron size and helium gas. HAp films were produced at incidence angles of 0, 10, 20, and 30°, but the HAp films did not have good adhesion to the PLA plate when incidence angles were 0, 10, and 20°. To increase the adhesion strength between the HAp film and the PLA plate, the HAp film produced on the plate with an incidence angle of 30° was heated in an electric furnace. In vitro assessments using simulated body fluid (SBF) were performed to investigate the bioactivity of the HAp-coated PLA plate. The heat-treated HAp film did not peel off from the plate throughout the SBF test. The surface morphology and the crystallinity of the film produced in the SBF suggest that the HAp-coated PLA plate is bioactive.

New method of pediatric cranioplasty for skull defect utilizing polylactic acid absorbable plates and carbonated apatite bone cement.

Cranial defect repair in the pediatric population requires a variety of special considerations. The pediatric skull has a dynamic nature that prohibits the use of rigid fixation, which is commonly applied in the adult population. A technique using a combination of polylactic acid plates and carbonated apatite bone cement has been devised by our group. Skull defects of varying sizes were repaired in 34 pediatric patients. Patients were examined on postoperative day 3 and at 3 months via three-dimensional computed tomography scans. Patients have been followed up to 60 months after surgery without complications or failures to date. This method benefits the pediatric patients undergoing cranioplasty by minimizing the insertion of long-term foreign bodies and allows the possibility for transformation of this construct into viable tissue.

Calvarial bone distraction with a contractile bioresorbable polymer.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possibility of mobilizing calvarial bone with a fully implantable and bioresorbable device. The animal model used was the New Zealand white rabbit (n = 12). An island bone flap attached to the dura mater was created in the parietal region and amalgam markers were placed in this bone flap and in the ipsilateral frontal bone. In one group of six rabbits (group 1), a specially processed contractile 70L/30D,L polylactic acid plate, 15 x 6 x 0.6 mm, was attached to the island flap by one extremity, and to the fixed ipsilateral frontal bone by the other. In group 2 (control), no plate was added. Bone marker movement was followed with serial radiography. In group 1, there was a progressive reduction in mean marker distance over the first 48 hours, and stability thereafter. In group 2 (control), mean marker distance remained stable until the second postoperative week, after which time there was a slight increase until the end of the experimental period. At 4 weeks, the mean marker separation differed significantly between group 1 (mean, -3.62 mm; SD, 0.79 mm) and group 2 (mean, 0.34 mm; SD, 0.14 mm; p <0.001). In conclusion, a totally implantable and bioresorbable device was successfully used to mobilize calvarial bone. Polymer contractility will likely constitute the basis of a new generation of bioresorbable distractors for use in craniofacial surgery.