The future of biodegradable osteosyntheses

In the last 3 decades, much progress has been made in the development of bi odegradable osteosyntheses, Despite this progress, these materials are stil l only used in small numbers, and the scope of their application has been l imited. The limitations of biodegradable osteosyntheses mainly are related to problems with their mechanical properties and, in particular, biocompati bility, These problems need to be solved so that biodegradable osteosynthes es can perform up to their full potential and thus, eventually, make their general clinical application routine. This paper presents a historical pers pective on the development of biodegradable osteosyntheses, discusses the s uccessful developmental achievements and the still-existing problems, and g ives a perspective on their future development.