Soft Tissue Replacement — I: Sutures, Skin, and Maxillofacial Implants

In soft tissue implants, as in other applications that involve engineering, the performance of an implanted device depends upon both the materials used and the design of the device or implant. The initial selection of material should be based on sound materials engineering practice. The final judgment on the suitability of a material depends upon observation of the in-vivo clinical performance of the implant. Such observations may require many years or decades. This requirement of in-vivo observation represents one of the major problems in the selection of appropriate materials for use in the human body. Another problem is that the performance of an implant may also depend on the design rather than the materials themselves. Even though one may have an ideal material and design, the actual performance also greatly depends on the skill of the surgeons and the prior condition of patients.