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Loss of bone due to surgery, accidents or normal aging very often entails a functional and/or cosmetic handicap. To heal a fracture, the bone-producing cells need a framework (matrix) both to grow on and to attach the produced bone minerals and proteins to. In a normal situation, blood clots and connective tissue fill out the fracture space, thus creating the necessary bridge for bone growth. However, if the defect is too large, the healing process is halted. To bridge over the lack of continuity between bone tissues and promote the bone-healing process in larger cavities, the best results are those obtained when transplanting the patientīs own bone (autograft), usually taken from the pelvic region and transferred to the target area. The demand of autografts widely exceeds the supply, mainly because it is only possible for a small sample of the patientīs own bone to be taken. Another major drawback is that postoperatively the patients very often suffer from painful sensations at the donor site. With the autograft procedure, the operation time is also prolonged considerably with increased costs and an increased risk for the patient.
Artificial bone substitution would be able to solve several problems associated with transplantation, and biocompatible materials have thus been introduced to replace natural bone.
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