Strength of single- versus double-anchor repair of type II SLAP lesions: a cadaveric study.
OBJECTIVE
This study was designed to examine whether there was a difference in pullout strength along with the mode of failure between 1 suture anchor and 2 suture anchors.


METHODS
Ten matched pairs of cadaveric shoulders were used in the study. A type II SLAP lesion, according to the classification of Snyder et al., was created. In 10 shoulders 1 anchor with 2 sutures was used to repair the lesion. In the other group of 10 matched shoulders, fixation was done with 2 anchors, with each anchor having only 1 suture. An Instron servohydraulic test machine (Instron, Canton, MA) was used to pull the long head of the biceps tendon until failure occurred.


RESULTS
The single-anchor group failed at a mean load of 278.5 +/- 101.5 N. The double-anchor group failed at 242.5 +/- 96.5 N. A paired 2-sample Student t test showed that there was no significant difference in pullout strength between the 2 groups (P = .090). The most common mode of failure was soft-tissue failure. There was 1 anchor pullout in the single-anchor group and 2 anchor pullouts in the double-anchor group.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study imply that using 1 anchor with 2 sutures is biomechanically equivalent to 2 anchors with 1 suture each for repairing type II SLAP lesions.


CONCLUSIONS
Using 1 suture anchor is sufficient to repair a type II SLAP lesion.
Baldini
Todd
T
Department of Orthopaedics, University of Colorado-Denver, Colorado, USA. todd.baldini@uchsc.edu
Snyder
R Lance
RL
Peacher
Gabby
G
Bach
Joel
J
McCarty
Eric
E
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001182:Arthroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002102:Cadaver; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000070599:Shoulder Injuries; D012785:Shoulder Joint / Q000601:surgery*; D053441:Suture Anchors; D013536:Suture Techniques