Table of Contents
Manufacturing
Beeswax manufacturing methods
Uses for surgery
Talking
In conclusion
Honeybees, the most beautiful creatures on Earth, produce honey which is useful and beneficial for our everyday lives. However, it’s more than just that. The beeswax, which is used to form the honeycomb, is the next most important element. Propolis and beeswax are often confused. Beeswax, a natural secretion of the wax glands is used in the construction of the hive’s cell walls. Propolis (bee glue), a sticky resin derived from plants is used for the assembly of the hive.
Beeswax has been used as a valuable material since the 14thcentury. Hippocrates recommended beeswax for treating tonsillitis. Although it was used by the ancients to make salves, healing ointments and wax figures, its use in later years was limited to candles, wax figures and artificial flowers. It has been re-popularized in the medical field due to the needs of modern society. Propolis is known for its antibacterial properties.
Bone wax is one of the most widely used beeswax derivatives. This refined formula is used in the majority of surgical procedures to control bone bleeding. Beeswax is used in many industries, pharmacies and medical fields. It’s important to understand its composition, production and uses. This article was written to address the lack of literature available on beeswax’s use in various clinical scenarios.
Beeswax production is done by honeybees belonging to the genera Apis mellifera or Apis cerana. Four pairs of wax-producing glands are used to produce wax during the bees’ 35-day life span. The glands turn the honey they consume into wax, which is then extruded from small pores on the abdomen of the bee. These flakes start out transparent, but after they are chewed up and mixed with salivary gland secretions, the flakes turn white. The bees use these flakes to build their combs.
Beeswax manufacturing methodsThe quality of the beeswax is greatly affected by its production method, which can be chemical or melting. Melting is a common procedure that can be performed in several ways. Chemical extraction using solvents can only be done in laboratories, when small-scale wax production is required. Hot water extraction by forced immersion is the most common technique. The honeycombs are submerged in water for 4 to 5 hours and then washed. This is done to remove the impurities that are water-soluble. The procedure should be repeated at least twice. Next, the combs need to be placed in a container of aluminum with water (20-30 liters) and heated up until the wax melts. The mixture then is filtered through a filter into another container. The wax, being lighter than the water, rises to the surface and can be separated. Once wax has cooled, it solidifies into a block that can be transported.
Uses for surgeryOn literature review beeswax has been used in various ways since 1880. The following are some of the ways in which beeswax is used by surgeons:
Beeswax used for soft tissue augmentation. The material was injected into the skin to improve facial appearance.
As an impression: In 1945, before the advent of light-body elastomers (or the more recent imaging scanners), beeswax mixed with vaseline served as the intraoperative material of choice to record the defects in the skull when cranioplasty was performed with acrylic plates. It was used to reproduce the detail of vomerine skeleton when obturator, a device used for cleft lip-and-palate management, was used.
As a locally hemostatic agents: Parker and Horsley described the first use of beeswax as bone wax back in 1892. The same as with all living tissues, bone will bleed from a cut or fracture. Therefore, hemostasis is required to ensure visibility. Tamponing is the most immediate and effective way to stop bleeding. Bone wax, which is beeswax mixed with a resinous material, is the most commonly used in this case. Since then, it has become widely accepted as a simple and effective way to achieve hemostasis of hard tissue surfaces.
Beeswax also helps in treating myiasis, when suffocation or occlusion is used as a complement to surgical debridement. This approach uses beeswax to occlude orifices, forcing the aerobic larvae to rise to the surface to search for air.
Beeswax is also used in non-resorbable sutures, such as silk. Their use is mostly in braided or twist sutures, to make them easier to handle.
Non-adhesive bandage: After skin grafting silk fibroin is coated with beeswax or biocompatible wax. The wax makes the fiber less hydrophobic, allowing it to adhere loosely and with minimal trauma. The skin becomes a yellow leathery crust resistant to infection, allowing the surgeon the option to excise it in stages. The treatment of burn wounds is also possible with this product. Recently, beeswax has been used to create nanofibres which have potential bioactive properties.
Compression dressings for the treatment of keloids have also been described in the literature. Beeswax blocks (2cm in thickness) can be easily customized into the shape and size of the keloids, then used to compress the gel sheets.
DiscussionCallow, in 1963, summarized information readily available about the composition of honey wax as a complicated mixture of hydrocarbons(14%), monoesters (35%), diesters (14%), trysters (3%), hydroxy monoester (4%), oxy polyester (8%), and oxides (12%). It is important to melt, clean and turn the wax into a solid block before it can be transported or stored. It is important to have a good understanding of the beeswax quality control process, as it can contain heat-resistant Paenibacillus spores. This is not killed by boiling wax, but requires heating at pressure (1400 hPa), 120degC over 30 minutes. Its inertness, high plasticity and inertness even at relatively low temperatures (32?C), along with its inherent antibacterial properties are the reasons for its increasing use in medical fields. It has a specific weight of 0. It melts at 64 degrees Celsius. 39? C. Crude honeyswax showed an antibacterial effect against a number of bacterial strains in vitro, including Aspergillus Niger (fungus), Candida species (fungus), Salmonella Enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aureus, Pseudomonas arruginosa, and Escherichia Colitis. In addition, the pro-vitamin and other biologically effective substances present in the beeswax can promote tissue regeneration which leads to rapid healing. Although Pogosyan and others have justified its use as a tissue regeneration material, the use of beeswax in guided tissue regeneration remains unexplored. Even though Pogosyan et. Although beeswax is well known for its anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and antioxidant properties, no human studies have been conducted to confirm the use of this material in guided tissue repair. In order to test the efficacy, more experimental studies will be required. The use of beeswax as a surgical agent could expand with the help of further research techniques.
ConclusionBeeswax has many uses in dentistry and surgery. Although its use is associated with many positive effects, there are also risks. We believe that further studies should be conducted on beehive and beeswax products, in order to evaluate their benefits and drawbacks in the field of surgery.
