| abstract |
A material with chemically induced surface charges is employed to foster formation of mammalian hard and soft connective tissues. The material may be in the form of beads such as ion exchange resins. Bead materials with a negative surface charge stimulate formation of hard tissue within long bones and foster bony repair of defects in parietal bones and in mandibular rami. Beads with positively charged surfaces engender formation of large quantities of soft dense connective tissue when implanted into defects in the cranium or when used as an onlay on the nasal bone surface. The use of such beads or other charged biodegradable materials and the use of other surface charged materials with different physical configurations provides significant improvement in hard and soft connective tissue repair, augmentation and replacement in medical fields such as orthopaedic and maxillofacial surgery. |