Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42225840›Full record

ArticleNature biomedical engineering2026

4D-printed adaptive hydrogel tissue expanders for ear and breast reconstruction.

Di Wang, Jia-Qi Lü, Xiao Kuang, Liming Lian, Sili Yi, Hossein Ravanbakhsh, Jin-Song Li, Guosheng Tang, Maobin Xie, Carlos Ezio Garciamendez-Mijares and 6 more

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Nature biomedical engineering, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Di Wang *Plastic Surgery Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8904-2981
Jia-Qi Lü *Center for Advanced Laser Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2171-5139
Xiao Kuang *Division of Engineering in Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6596-1417
Liming LianDivision of Engineering in Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Sili YiDivision of Engineering in Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Hossein RavanbakhshDivision of Engineering in Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Jin-Song LiCenter for Advanced Laser Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.
Guosheng TangDivision of Engineering in Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Maobin XieDivision of Engineering in Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9082-4510
Carlos Ezio Garciamendez-MijaresDivision of Engineering in Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Prajwal AgrawalDivision of Engineering in Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Zixuan WangDivision of Engineering in Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Sushila MaharjanDivision of Engineering in Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3957-3976
Wen ChenPlastic Surgery Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Haiyue JiangPlastic Surgery Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China. jianghaiyue@psh.pumc.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-5838-4828
Yu Shrike ZhangDivision of Engineering in Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA. yszhang@bwh.harvard.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0045-0808

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Tissue expanders are widely used for organ and tissue reconstruction surgery. Hydrogel tissue expanders that swell in a biofluid are promising for minimally invasive operations. Nevertheless, clinical applications of existing hydrogel tissue expanders exhibit simple geometries, rapid swelling and insufficient mechanical performances. Here we develop a negatively charged polyelectrolyte hydrogel ink for light-based printing and prolonged yet large expansive profiles for surface organ and tissue reconstruction. This 4D-printed hydrogel tissue expander can be moulded in architecturally sophisticated constructs that adapt to the environment and show favourable mechanics without the need of external triggers for expansion. The ionization degree of the polyelectrolyte hydrogels is tunable by pH value in the surrounding medium and allows a volume equilibrium-swelling up to 10-30 times. In a rabbit model, we use the tissue expander for reconstruction of human-size ears and breasts, highlighting their multifold advantages over existing clinically adopted methods and thus future translation potentials.

Identifiers

PMID42225840

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.