This concise but comprehensive book is the first volume devoted to the applications of Biomaterials in Hand Surgery. It presents the basic knowledge in the field of Biomaterials, Tissue Engineering, Regenerative Medicine, Implant Design and Hand Joints Prostheses, and deepens the key topic of metacarpo-phalangeal joint prostheses in rheumatoid patients. Finally, it reviews the research trends for flexor tendon repair and presents new challenging ideas for regeneration of peripheral nerves by artificial nerve-guides.


The main purpose of this work is to collect and provide information about the field in a single dedicated book. Orthopaedic surgeons, hand and plastic surgeons, rheumatologists, materials scientists as well as mechanical engineers and residents in these fields, can find in this book a quick reference, accessible to readers with different level of knowledge.

Contents: Introduction.- Basic Knowledge on Biomaterials.- Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine.- Designing Techniques for Biomedical Devices.- Prostheses for the Hand Joint.- Causes of Failure for Flexible Metacarpo-Phalangeal Joint Prostheses.- Prosthetic Surgery of Metacarpo-Phalangeal Joint in Rheumatoid Patients: an open problem.- Requirements for a Metacarpo-Phalangeal Joint Prosthesis for Rheumatoid Patients.- Research Trends for Flexor Tendon Repair.- Peripheral Nerve Regeneration by Artificial Nerve-Guides.