Tissue engineering for the hand surgeon: a clinical perspective.

Hand surgeons may be faced with tissue shortages for reconstruction after trauma, tumor resection, or congenital deficiency. Tissue engineering is a developing scientific field that combines the principles of life sciences and engineering in developing biologic substitutes that will restore, maintain, or improve tissue function. This article reviews the general principles of tissue engineering as applied to musculoskeletal tissues including nerve, bone, tendon, skin, vessels, and cartilage and focuses on the application of tissue engineering that is relevant to clinical hand surgery.