Bone graft substitutes: past, present, future

Bone grafts are necessary to provide support, fill voids, and enhance biologic repair of skeletal defects. They are used by orthopaedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, craniofacial surgeons, and periodontists. Bone harvested from donor sites is the gold standard for this procedure. It is well documented that there are limitations and complications from the use of autograft, including the limited quantity and associated chronic donor site pain. Despite the increase in the number of procedures that require bone grafts, there has not been a single ideal bone graft substitute Scientists, surgeons, and medical companies, thus, have a tremendous responsibility to develop biologic alternatives that will enhance the functional capabilities of the bone graft substitute, and potentially reduce or eliminate the need for autograft. This article is an attempt to review the past and existing bone graft substitutes, and future directions of research. The historical data was extracted after thorough review of the literature. The data for the current concepts and future directions was compiled from the Internet, and from direct correspondence with medical companies. Since many products are undergoing clinical trials, and are yet not commercially available, their data cannot be found in literature. The main purpose of this article is to give the reader an idea about the existing market products and products likely to be available in near future.