Regenerative medicine in surgery: stem cells and exosome applications

This review outlines the role of regenerative medicine in surgical applications, focusing on stem cells and exosomes. Among the most important features of stem cells are their unique ability to differentiate into various cell types, which make them stand out in regeneration and repair. Recent advances highlight the effectiveness of not only these cells themselves but also the exosomes, the nano-sized extracellular vesicles they produce, in this regeneration. On the other hand, exosomes assure additional advantages concerning low immunogenicity and high bioavailability but have raised problems in standardization and safety. In fact, the introduction of these stem cell and exosome technologies is changing the management of surgical pathologies and offering hope for diseases hitherto considered incurable. In this review, the use of stem cell therapies in various surgical diseases is categorized and examined, their clinical importance is emphasized, and the deficiencies in research studies are indicated. Therefore, the results are promising for treatments, but more standardized protocols and expanded research on long-term safety and effectiveness are needed.