Half-Synthetic Half-Biological Material Replaces Soft Facial Tissues, Letting Doctors Shape Implants to Order
In reconstructive surgery, if a doctor needs a bone he or she can turn to a range of plastics, ceramics, or metals as suitable replacements. But when it comes to soft tissues--like the kind found in that most cosmetically important area, the face--replacements are scarce, and the ones that do exist aren't very good, especially when it comes to fixing large-scale deformities. But a new transplantable biomaterial, part biological and part synthetic, could help surgeons rebuild even the hardest to fix disfigurements. Just inject, shape, and blast with green light. Related ArticlesBored By Non-Glowing Skin? Ultra-Flexible, Waterproof LED Implants Are What You SeekSilicone Implants Become Energy-Harvesting Devices Implantable Device Allows Mastectomy Patients to Regrow Own BreastsTagsScience, Clay Dillow, biomaterials, cosmetic implants, health, medical implants, medicineThe material, developed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, blends polyethylene glycol, a synthetic material, with hyaluronic acid, a biological material already in use in soft tissue...