Cyclic testing of flexible all-inside meniscus suture anchors: biomechanical analysis.
BACKGROUND
Flexible meniscus repair devices are designed to combine the benefits of rigid all-inside meniscus anchors with the biomechanical properties of sutures.


OBJECTIVE
Stiffness and pull-out strength of flexible all-inside suture anchors and conventional sutures under cyclic loading conditions will be comparable.


METHODS
Controlled laboratory study.


METHODS
In 50 fresh frozen bovine menisci, artificial meniscus lesions were repaired with different meniscus fixation techniques: horizontal and vertical FasT-Fix, RapidLoc, and horizontal and vertical 2-0 Ethibond sutures. The specimens were cycled 1000 times between 5 and 20 N and then loaded to failure.


RESULTS
All devices survived the cyclic loading protocol. There was no significant difference in the displacement between all repair techniques tested (horizontal FasT-Fix, 6.23 mm; vertical FasT-Fix, 5.34 mm; RapidLoc, 6.84 mm; horizontal 2-0 Ethibond, 6.03 mm; vertical 2-0 Ethibond, 5.61 mm (P > .05). Vertical and horizontal FasT-Fix suture anchors had a significantly higher stiffness and pull-out strength (94.1 N and 80.8 N, respectively) than did horizontal sutures (50.2 N) and RapidLoc devices (30.3 N) (P > .05).


CONCLUSIONS
In this study, flexible all-inside meniscus anchors (FasT-Fix) had higher pull-out strength than did conventional vertical suture techniques. Biomechanical characteristics of the flexible RapidLoc are comparable to those of horizontal sutures.


CONCLUSIONS
Flexible all-inside meniscus repair devices are an alternative to conventional suture techniques.
Zantop
Thore
T
Department for Trauma, Hand, and Reconstructive Surgery, Wilhelms-University Münster, Waldeyerstrasse 1, D-48149 Münster, Germany.
Eggers
Ann K
AK
Musahl
Volker
V
Weimann
Andre
A
Petersen
Wolf
W
D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002417:Cattle; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008422:Materials Testing; D008592:Menisci, Tibial / Q000601:surgery*; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D013536:Suture Techniques; D000070600:Tibial Meniscus Injuries; D016474:Weight-Bearing