New Implants to Accommodate Growth in Children

Artificial implants are used surgically to correct structural defects. Annuloplasty ring implants are often used to repair defects in the heart valves. However, since the implants are of fixed size, they do not accommodate for the growth in children. Scientists have developed surgical implants that could accommodate tissue growth in children and reduce the need for repeated surgeries to replace implants. Their study was published in Nature Biomedical Engineering.