Biofabrication of prevascularized spheroids for bone tissue engineering by fusion of microvascular fragments with osteoblasts.

Introduction: Spheroids are promising building blocks for scaffold-free bone tissue engineering. Their rapid vascularization is of major importance to guarantee their survival after transplantation. To achieve this, we herein introduce the biofabrication of prevascularized spheroids by fusion of adipose tissue-derived microvascular fragments (MVF) with osteoblasts (OB).

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown measures on plastic, reconstructive and hand surgery emergency presentations - A comparative retrospective study in a regional referral center in Germany.

Background: The global COVID-19 pandemic has led to social constraints and changes in injury patterns during the government-imposed restrictions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the lockdown period on the pattern of emergency presentations in a plastic, hand and reconstructive surgery department in a German referral center.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted comparing patients presenting during the enforced lockdown period in 2020 and the same pre-pandemic period during the previous year 2019.