Ma, Richard; Schär, Michael; Chen, Tina; Sisto, Marco; Nguyen, Joseph; Voigt, Clifford; Deng, Xiang-Hua; Rodeo, Scott A (2018). Effect of Dynamic Changes in Anterior Cruciate Ligament In Situ Graft Force on the Biological Healing Response of the Graft-Tunnel Interface. The American journal of sports medicine, 46(4), pp. 915-923. Sage 10.1177/0363546517745624
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)BACKGROUND
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) grafts that are placed for reconstruction are subject to complex forces. Current "anatomic" ACL reconstruction techniques may result in greater in situ graft forces. The biological effect of changing magnitudes of ACL graft force on graft-tunnel osseointegration is not well understood.
PURPOSE
The research objective is to determine how mechanical force on the ACL graft during knee motion affects tendon healing in the tunnel.
STUDY DESIGN
Controlled laboratory study.
METHODS
Male rats (N = 120) underwent unilateral ACL reconstruction with a soft tissue flexor tendon autograft. ACL graft force was modulated by different femoral tunnel positions at the time of surgery to create different graft force patterns with knee motion. External fixators were used to eliminate graft load during cage activity. A custom knee flexion device was used to deliver graft load through controlled daily knee motion. Graft-tunnel healing was then assessed via biomechanical, micro-computed tomography, and histological analyses.
RESULTS
ACL graft-tunnel healing was sensitive to dynamic changes in graft forces with postoperative knee motion. High ACL graft force with joint motion resulted in early inferior ACL graft load to failure as compared with knees that had low-force ACL grafts and joint motion and knees that were immobilized (mean ± SD: 5.50 ± 2.30 N vs 9.91 ± 3.54 N [ P = .013] and 10.90 ± 2.8 N [ P = .001], respectively). Greater femoral bone volume fraction was seen in immobilized knees and knees with low-force ACL grafts when compared with high-force ACL grafts at 3 and 6 weeks.
CONCLUSION
The authors were able to demonstrate that ACL graft-tunnel incorporation is sensitive to dynamic changes in ACL graft force with joint motion. Early high forces on the ACL graft appear to impair graft-tunnel osseointegration.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Current "anatomic" techniques of ACL reconstruction may result in greater graft excursion and force with knee motion. Our results suggest that the postoperative rehabilitation regimen may need to be modified during the early phase of healing to protect the reconstruction.
Item Type: |
Journal Article (Original Article) |
|---|---|
Division/Institute: |
04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of Orthopaedic, Plastic and Hand Surgery (DOPH) > Clinic of Orthopaedic Surgery |
UniBE Contributor: |
Schär, Michael |
Subjects: |
600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health |
ISSN: |
1552-3365 |
Publisher: |
Sage |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Kathrin Aeschlimann |
Date Deposited: |
04 Oct 2019 10:43 |
Last Modified: |
05 Dec 2022 15:29 |
Publisher DOI: |
10.1177/0363546517745624 |
PubMed ID: |
29298079 |
Uncontrolled Keywords: |
ACL animal model anterior cruciate ligament healing graft healing graft isometry |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/132054 |
Actions (login required)
 |
Edit item |