NO MORE “BIONIC” JOINTS. News from Dr. Brueck, Fort Myers Plastic Surgeon

I feel somewhat like the bionic man with my new titanium rods in my lower back, but now new research is being conducted and new technology is being developed that may make traditional bionic joint replacement old fashioned.

Joints "Under Construction"

Scientists and researchers at the Orthomimetics Lab of Cambridge England, in conjunction with scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have constructed a scaffold of biodegradable material and placed it into the joint to allow cartilaginous material to be placed in this scaffold. The materials have microspheres or microscopic pores that allow blood and stem cells into and around this prefabricated scaffold. Stem cells then develop into cartilage and bone. This is a “joint” (pun intended) effort between scientists in England as well as MIT.

This new “scaffold” is already approved in Europe but awaits FDA approval here.

I wonder how future biomedical research and development will be affected by government control of medicine. New research and new drugs all come with a cost. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

The same spirit of technological advance in all of medicine is showing up in cosmetic surgery procedures as well.

What you knew about plastic surgery the last time you checked may be historic.

You're invited to visit my web site at Beauty-by-Brueck, where we frequently add news about the field of cosmetic surgery. And be sure to sign up for the RSS feed of this blog, http://DrBruecksblog.blogspot.com, to receive regular updates. You can do so by accessing bloglines or feedburner. Just enter either term in you search engine to get started.

It's an exciting time, as long as it lasts.