Rotator cuff tendon tissue cut-through comparison between 2 high–tensile strength sutures

Abstract

High-tensile strength sutures are known to cut through tendon tissue when used for rotator cuff and other tendon repairs, resulting in mechanical failure. The purpose of this study was to test a new suture and compare it with an established suture in a controlled laboratory setting. Two sutures, Dynacordand FiberWire, both USP size No. 2, were passed through fresh infraspinatus tendons from 7 matched pairsof ovine shoulders (14 shoulders). Samples underwent cyclic testing for 1000 cycles, and the amount of cheese-wire tissue damage (tendon cut-through) was recorded. A clinical failurewas defined as greater than 5 mm of tissue cut-through. The mean amount of tendon cut-through was 3.72 ± 1.14 mm in the FiberWire specimens and 2.69 ± 1.02 mm in the Dynacordgroup. The difference was statistically significant (P = .012). In the matched-pair analysis, more tendon cut-through was noted with FiberWire in 13 specimens whereas a greater amount was found in only 1 Dynacordspecimen. The FiberWirespecimens showed 2 instances of tissue tendon cut-through exceeding 5 mm, defined as a clinical failure. In this cadaveric ovine rotator cuff tendon model, we found less tendon cut-through from Dynacordsuture compared with FiberWire. In addition, 2 of the FiberWirespecimens showed complete tendon cut-through. Future studies focusing on patient-reported outcomes and healing rates with different types of suture materials are needed.