Defects in the head, face, or jaw, whether from disease, injury, or birth defect, can dramatically impact a person’s appearance. A team of researchers at Texas A&M University, College Station, report that they have developed a specialized material that can expand with warm salt water to precisely fill bone defects, and act as a scaffold for new bone growth.
The most common method for filling these defects is autografting where surgeons harvest bone and then try to shape it to fit the bone defect. Howvever, bone is very rigid and difficult to shape into irregular defects. Another solution is bone putty, which does not have pores to allow new bone cells to enter and rebuild damaged tissue.
The researchers developed a shape-memory polymer that molds itself precisely to the shape of the bone defect without being brittle. It also supports the growth of new bone tissue, they say. The material resembles a stiff sponge, with many interconnected pores to allow bone cells to migrate in and grow.
Upon heating to 140°F, the material becomes soft and malleable. A surgeon could warm the polymer and fill in the defect with the softened material. As the materials cools to body temperature, it would resume its stiff texture and “lock” into position.
