Regenerative medicine in orthopaedic surgery

Abstract

Regenerative medicine includes the use of technologies aimed at repairing or replacing damaged cells, tissues and organs, in order to restore their structure and function. The clinical indications for the use of regenerative medicine in orthopaedic surgery are degenerative diseases (arthritis, aseptic necrosis, osteochondritis), posttraumatic conditions (non-union) and osteoarticular segmental bone loss. The objective of tissue regeneration in orthopaedic surgery can be achieved with minimally invasive techniques or using open surgery with the application of biological or synthetic scaffolds, autologous mesenchymal stem cells, growth factors or specific surgical techniques and new-generation surgical devices. Three-dimensional bioprinting, the new frontier of tissue engineering, is a promising technology for regenerative medicine in orthopaedic surgery. In the present review, all the different techniques of bone tissue regeneration will be described with the aim of highlighting their evidence-based effectiveness and trying to define their specific role in different indications.