Research

Christian Lindqvist has been known for his contributions to new treatment methods in facial bone traumatology and reconstructions after ablative cancer surgery. A number of the early papers deal with both experimental and clinical studies of rigid fixation of bone fractures. Together with researchers from the Tissue Technology Institute Regea in Tampere, bioresorbable devices were developed to aid in stabilization of fractures and osteotomies in the craniomaxilllofacial skeleton. From these osteosynthesis studies research work was directed towards guided tissue regeneration in general. Tissue engineered custom made implants using stem cells have been suggested to become the treatment method in the future. Based on extensive basic research work, reconstruction of the first clinical patient cases with defects after ablative surgery were described in 2008. Custom made reconstruction, by inducing ectopic bone formation with the patient’s own adipose tissue derived stem cells combined with β-tricalcium phosphate and bone morphogenetic protein-7 in the rectus muscle was performed for the first time at the Department of oral and maxillofacial surgery, Helsinki University Hospital.