A bio-degradable material is one that is naturally broken down over a period of time and absorbed by the body.
Many applications for bio-degradable materials
Many bio-degradable materials are used these days in knee surgery. Examples include screws for fixing a cruciate ligament reconstruction, skin sutures and arrows for meniscal repair. There is considerable interest in developing bio-degradable scaffolds to support the growth of cellular sheets for joint cartilage and meniscus repair. Common bio-degradable materials include polyglycolic acid, poly-L lactic acid, poly-DL lactic acid, PGA/trimethylene carbonate copolymers, poly-p-dioxanone and poly-beta-hydroxybutyric acid.
CLINICAL PUBLICATIONS
Bioabsorbable versus metallic interference screws for graft fixation in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Franciozi CES, Lenza M, Tamaoki MJ, Magnussen RA, Faloppa F, Belloti JC and Debieux P. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016 Jul; 2016(7): CD009772.