Since 1977, osseointegrated implants (or fixtures) made of titanium have provided successful means of retention for the Vistafix™ system for facial prosthesis.
Vistafix treatment involves a clinical procedure during which a small titanium implant is placed in the bone. The implant bonds with the surrounding bone tissue – a process known as osseointegration. Osseointegration was a term coined by Professor Per-Ingvar Brånemark when he discovered the ability of living tissue to integrate with titanium.
Osseointegration has been described as a direct structural and functional connection between living bone and the surface of a load carrying implant. During his original research Professor Brånemark found a way of using pure titanium as an anchoring unit for a variety of prosthetic reconstructions.
The long-term predictability and success of Vistafix rehabilitation is based on the fact that an active bond between tissue and implant is created at a molecular level. The implant is not only accepted but also incorporated within the bone. In short the implant becomes a part of you.
1965 – Professor P.I. Brånemark discovers that bone can fuse with a titanium implant and terms the process “osseointegration”.
1977 – The first patient receives a Vistafix bone anchored prosthesis.
1979 – Silicone rubber becomes the primary substance used for making prostheses.
1987 – The first patient receives a Vistafix prosthesis
Since the early 1990s – Developments in digital technology and 3D imaging allow both improved treatment planning for prostheses and greater patient involvement in the planning process.
