Clinical Experience and Early Results of Carbon Fiber Augmentation of Anterior Cruciate Reconstruction of the Knee

Abstract

Augmentation by autogenous tissue in the repair of acute anterior cruciate ligament injury has been found to be of benefit in providing a scaffold for the disrupted tissue and a stent to protect the repaired tissue, thereby ultimately increasing the strength of the repair. In both the acute setting and when autogenous tissue is used to reconstruct a chronic anterior cruciate-deficient knee, the substitute tissues require protection while revascularization and recollagenization take place. Potential solutions to these problems are sought in a ligament prosthesis, such as carbon fibers, that would be capable of providing both a stent for protection and an inducement for collagen ingrowth. Intra-articular reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament with autogenous tissue augmented by PLA-coated carbon fibers was performed in one group of ten patients. A second group of matched cases was similarly treated but without augmentation for controls. The results were analyzed at one year postoperation on both the 100-point protocol rating system and the authors' 200-point knee rating system. On the 100-point scale, the study group improved by 14.8% of the preoperative rating, while the comparison group improved by 23.3%. On the 200-point system, the study group improved by 21.9%, the comparison group by 22.6%. There was no demonstrable benefit in the use of carbon fiber to augment intra-articular, autogenous tissue anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions.