title: Bioreabsorbable polymer scaffold as temporary meniscal prosthesis.
abstract: Menisci have an important role in load bearing, shock absorption, knee joint stability, and joint lubrication. Meniscal lesions and meniscectomy are followed by osteoarthritis in a high percentage of patients. At present, there is no ideal prosthesis for meniscal substitution. In this work, a bioreabsorbable polymer scaffold made of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) and poly(p-dioxanone) (PPD) blend was developed to be used as a temporary meniscal prosthesis to stimulate the formation of an in situ meniscal replication while the scaffold is reabsorbed by the organism. Total meniscectomy of medial meniscus and arthrotomy was made in both back knees of 34 adult New Zealand white rabbits by medial parapatellar incision. The scaffolds were sutured in one of the knees, and other was used as a control. A meniscal replica was developed, suggesting that this material has great potential to be used as a meniscal prosthesis, especially because the new meniscus promoted a significant protection of cartilage, and cartilage degeneration in the control condyles was observed.
authors.affiliation: State University of Campinas, UNICAMP, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Campinas, SP, Brazil. paula@fem.unicamp.br
authors.forename: Ana Paula
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Testa Pezzin
authors.forename: Túlio Pereira
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: do Carmo Alberto Rincón
authors.forename: Cecília Amélia
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: de Carvalho Zavaglia
authors.forename: Eliana Aparecida
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: de Rezende Duek
mesh_terms: D020341:Absorbable Implants; D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000502:physiology* / Q000601:surgery; D004146:Dioxanes / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006614:Hindlimb; D007720:Knee Prosthesis; D008592:Menisci, Tibial / Q000502:physiology* / Q000601:surgery; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D011060:Poloxalene / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011091:Polyesters / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016062:Porosity; D011817:Rabbits; D012038:Regeneration
chemical_list: D004146:Dioxanes; D011091:Polyesters; C430808:poly(lactide-pluronic)copolymer; D011060:Poloxalene; C059814:4-dioxanone