Personalized Bone Reconstruction and Regeneration in the Treatment of Craniosynostosis

Abstract

Craniosynostosis (CS) is the second most prevalent craniofacial congenital malformation due to the premature fusion of skull sutures. CS care requires surgical treatment of variable complexity, aimed at resolving functional and cosmetic defects resulting from the skull growth constrain. Despite significant innovation in the management of CS, morbidity and mortality still exist. Residual cranial defects represent a potential complication and needdedicated management to drive a targeted bone regeneration while modulating suture ossification. To this aim, existing techniques are rapidly evolving and include the implementation of novel biomaterials, 3D printing and additive manufacturing techniques, and advanced therapies based on tissue engineering. This review aims at providing an exhaustive and up-to-date overview of the strategies in use to correct these congenital defects, focusing on the technological advances in the fields of biomaterials and tissue engineering implemented in pediatric surgical skull reconstruction, i.e., biodegradable bone fixation systems, biomimetic scaffolds, drug delivery systems, and cell-based approaches.

Comparison of the Accuracy and Clinical Parameters of Patient-Specific and Conventionally Bended Plates for Mandibular Reconstruction

“…In CAD/CAM implants, intraoperative steps can be performed more effectively and efficiently compared to conventional methods in terms of minimizing the burden for patients as well as the risks of postoperative complications (1,14,15,(39)(40)(41). This approach was also followed by Rustemeyer et al in their investigation of intraoperative times in osseous reconstructions with free fibular grafts.…”

Bioprinting Technology in Skin, Heart, Pancreas and Cartilage Tissues: Progress and Challenges in Clinical Practice

“…The main advantage of extrusion 3D printing is the possibility of extruding cells, extracellular matrices and thermo-biopolymers both individually and simultaneously with more than one extrusion system. This is a bioprinting technique widely used in the bone tissue regeneration field [8] and in drug release studies [9]. The extrusion technique also allows the printing of scaffolds with thermo-biopolymers such as PCL (polycaprolactone) [10,11], PLA (polylactic acid) [11] and PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) [11].…”

Translating Material Science into Bone Regenerative Medicine Applications: State-of-The Art Methods and Protocols

“…Despite representing the ‘gold standard’ of autografts, the pain and donor site morbidity associated with their harvesting represent the main disadvantages of their use [ 4 ]. For these reasons, several alternative synthetic and biologically based tissue-engineered biomaterials have been introduced into clinical practice, and an increasing variety of biomaterial compositions are being proposed as alternative strategies on a daily basis by scientific research in the field [ 6 ].…”