Bioresorbable Implants: The Future of Medicine

 

Bioresorbable Implants

Bioresorbable implants are emerging as the next innovation in the medical device industry. These implants are made from materials that naturally break down and are absorbed by the body over time, eliminating the need for permanent hardware or later removal surgeries. In this article, we take an in-depth look at bioresorbable implants—what they are, how they work, current applications, and the promising prospects they hold for revolutionizing patient care.

How Bioresorbable Implants Work

Bioresorbable implants are manufactured from polymers, metals or combination materials that safely degrade in the body over months or years via normal biological processes. As the implant slowly breaks down, it transfers its load to new tissue that forms in its place. Key elements that make up these materials include polylactic acid (PLA), polyglycolic acid (PGA) and magnesium alloys.

The breakdown process happens on the molecular level as water interacts with the implant material, causing it to degrade through hydrolysis. During this phase, the implant loses mechanical integrity as it breaks into smaller water-soluble molecules that can be metabolized or excreted by the body like other biomolecules. The natural degradation timeline ranges from a few months to a couple years depending on the material formulation and implant size/thickness.

Current Applications

Bioresorbable implants are already being used successfully in various clinical areas:

- Orthopedic Devices

Bioresorbable screws, pins, plates and rods are commonly deployed in hand, wrist, foot and ankle surgeries to aid bone healing without requiring later removal. They provide structural support during the regeneration process before vanishing.

- Cardiology Stents

Bioresorbable stents made of PLLA or PLA have been implanted in heart patients as an alternative to permanent metal stents. They prop open the artery for several months and then disappear, leaving no long-term hardware in the body.

- Neurosurgery

PLLA clips are starting to replace titanium clips for brain aneurysm treatment, eliminating the risk of interference with CT/MRI imaging long-term. PLA membranes are also being researched as temporary barriers post-neurosurgery.

- General Surgery

PLA meshes have applications in hernia repair where they reinforce weakened tissue for around 2 years before resorbing naturally.

With growing clinical evidence Bioresorbable Implants  have become an established option in many procedures by giving short-term mechanical support to healing sites.

Advantages Over Permanent Implants

The benefits of bioresorbable implants versus traditional permanent hardware include:

- Elimination of second surgeries for removal which reduces costs and trauma for patients.

- Avoidance of stress shielding effects by matching mechanical properties to healing bone/tissue.

- Ability to use implants in children and in sites where permanent implants may interfere with growth or future imaging needs.

- Prevention of long-term adverse effects like stress fractures seen with rigid metallic implants left in the body indefinitely.

- Possibility of angiogenesis and bone regeneration guided by the temporary implant scaffold as it degrades.

- Potentially improved wound healing outcomes without a foreign body retained post-procedure.

With bioresorbable materials, patients get the needed structural support transiently without the lifelong consequences of a permanent foreign implant retained in their body long-term. This makes them very appealing alternatives in many clinical scenarios.

Expanding Applications and Future Prospects

Research into new resorbable materials, device designs and clinical uses continues apace. Some interesting areas being explored include:

- Drug Delivery Systems

Developing bioresorbable implant platforms that can locally elute drugs/growth factors/stem cells in a controlled manner over weeks/months to enhance healing at injury/surgery sites.

- Tissue Engineering Scaffolds

Creating 3D printed, bioresorbable scaffolds that guide tissue regeneration through their structural architecture as they gradually degrade in the body.

- Composite Implants

Combining resorbable polymers with osteoconductive materials like calcium phosphate or magnesium alloys to stimulate bone in-growth during the degradation period.

- Other Specialties

Expanding bioresorbable solutions into areas like dental/maxillofacial, gynecology, urology, general soft tissue reconstruction through innovative new product designs.

As material science and fabrication techniques advance further, bioresorbable medical devices have huge prospects to revolutionize how various conditions are clinically managed. The ability to provide transient mechanical support without lifelong hardware will drive their greater adoption across multiple medical disciplines in the future.

Bioresorbable implants represent a major breakthrough that can transform patient outcomes by eliminating permanent foreign bodies left in the body after healing. With continued innovation, they are poised to become the standard of care for many procedures going forward.

 

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