Tissue engineering in head and neck reconstructive surgery: what type of tissue do we need?
Craniofacial tissue loss due to congenital defects, disease or injury is a major clinical problem. The head and neck region is composed of several tissues. The most prevalent method of reconstruction is autologous grafting. Often, there is insufficient host tissue for adequate repair of the defect side, and extensive donor site morbidity may result from the secondary surgical procedure. The field of tissue engineering has the potential to create functional replacements for damaged or pathologic tissues.
Goessler
Ulrich Reinhart
UR
Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, 68135, Mannheim, Germany. ulrich.goessler@hno.ma.uni-heidelberg.de
Stern-Straeter
Jens
J
Riedel
Katrin
K
Bran
Gregor M
GM
Hörmann
Karl
K
Riedel
Frank
F
D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous