Use of a collagen-platelet rich plasma scaffold to stimulate healing of a central defect in the canine ACL.
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of the knee fails to heal after primary repair. Here we hypothesize that a beneficial biologic repair response can be induced by placing a collagen-platelet rich plasma (collagen-PRP) material into a central ACL defect. A collagen-PRP scaffold was used to treat a central ACL defect in vivo. In the first experiment, the histologic response in treated and untreated defects was evaluated at 3 (n = 5) and 6 weeks (n = 5). In the second experiment, biomechanical testing of the treated ligaments (n = 8) was performed at 6 weeks and compared with the results of biomechanical testing of untreated defects at the same time-point (n = 6). The percentage filling of the defects in the treated ACLs was significantly higher at both the 3- and 6-week time-points when compared with the untreated contralateral control defects (50 +/- 21% vs. 2 +/- 2% at 3 weeks, and 43 +/- 11% vs. 23 +/- 11 at 6 weeks; all values mean +/- SEM. Biomechanically, the treated ACL defects had a 40% increase in strength at 6 weeks, which was significantly higher than the 14% increase in strength previously reported for untreated defects (p < 0.02). Placement of a collagen-PRP bridging scaffold in a central ACL defect can stimulate healing of the ACL histologically and biomechanically.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Children's Hospital of Boston, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. Martha.murray@childrens.harvard.edu
Martha M
MM
Murray
Kurt P
KP
Spindler
Clint
C
Devin
Brian S
BS
Snyder
John
J
Muller
Masaya
M
Takahashi
Percy
P
Ballard
Lillian B
LB
Nanney
David
D
Zurakowski
D000818:Animals; D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000502:physiology*; D003094:Collagen / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004285:Dogs; D014945:Wound Healing
D003094:Collagen