Journal of Functional Biomaterials

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Dr. Tomaž Velnar

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Department of Neurosurgery, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: neurosurgery; cell cultures; neural regeneration; wound healing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biomaterials and biotechnology are becoming increasingly important in modern medicine. The aim of this field of research is the development of materials which are biocompatible with normal tissue. In particular, neural regeneration has become critically important and extensive research has been focused on the regeneration possibilities of the peripheral and central nervous system. Therefore, the development of in vitro neural tissue analogs remains significant for many biomedical engineering applications, including the tissue engineering of neural interfaces, the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and the in vitro evaluation of cell–material interactions. This Special Issue will include review articles and research studies which discuss biomaterials that can be used for the regeneration and reparation of the central and peripheral nervous system.

Dr. Tomaž Velnar
Guest Editor

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Keywords

biomaterials
transplant
neural tissue

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Research

18 pages, 3112 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Clinical Applications of Poly-Methyl-Methacrylate in Neurosurgery: The In Vivo Cranial Bone Reconstruction

by Tomaz Velnar, Roman Bosnjak and Lidija Gradisnik

J. Funct. Biomater. 2022, 13(3), 156; https://doi.org/10.3390/jfb13030156 - 19 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3566

Abstract

Background: Biomaterials and biotechnology are becoming increasingly important fields in modern medicine. For cranial bone defects of various aetiologies, artificial materials, such as poly-methyl-methacrylate, are often used. We report our clinical experience with poly-methyl-methacrylate for a novel in vivo bone defect closure and artificial bone flap development in various neurosurgical operations. Methods: The experimental study included 12 patients at a single centre in 2018. They presented with cranial bone defects after various neurosurgical procedures, including tumour, traumatic brain injury and vascular pathologies. The patients underwent an in vivo bone reconstruction from poly-methyl-methacrylate, which was performed immediately after the tumour removal in the tumour group, whereas the trauma and vascular patients required a second surgery for cranial bone reconstruction due to the bone decompression. The artificial bone flap was modelled in vivo just before the skin closure. Clinical and surgical data were reviewed. Results: All patients had significant bony destruction or unusable bone flap. The tumour group included five patients with meningiomas destruction and the trauma group comprised four patients, all with severe traumatic brain injury. In the vascular group, there were three patients. The average modelling time for the artificial flap modelling was approximately 10 min. The convenient location of the bone defect enabled a relatively straightforward and fast reconstruction procedure. No deformations of flaps or other complications were encountered, except in one patient, who suffered a postoperative infection. Conclusions: Poly-methyl-methacrylate can be used as a suitable material to deliver good cranioplasty cosmesis. It offers an optimal dural covering and brain protection and allows fast intraoperative reconstruction with excellent cosmetic effect during the one-stage procedure. The observations of our study support the use of poly-methyl-methacrylate for the ad hoc reconstruction of cranial bone defects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Biomaterials for Neuroengineering)

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