Suture Repair Of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Research Articles

Augmenting ACL Repair With Suture Tape Improves Knee Laxity: A Biomechanical Study.

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repair is an alternative to reconstruction; however, suture tape support may be necessary to achieve adequate outcomes. To investigate the influence of suture tape augmentation (STA) of proximal ACL repair on knee kinematics and to evaluate the effect of the 2 flexion angles of suture tape fixation. Controlled laboratory study. Fourteen cadaveric knees were tested using a 6 degrees of freedom robotic testing system under anterior tibial (AT) load, simulated pivot-shift (PS) load, and internal rotation (IR) and external rotation loads. Kinematics and in situ tissue forces were evaluated. Knee states tested were (1) ACL intact, (2) ACL cut, (3) ACL repair with suture only, (4) ACL repair with STA fixed at 0° of knee flexion, and (5) ACL repair with STA fixed at 20° of knee flexion. ACL repair alone did not restore the intact ACL AT translation at 0°, 15°, 30°, or 60° of flexion. Adding suture tape to the repair significantly decreased AT translation at 0°, 15°, and 30° of knee flexion but not to the level of the intact ACL. With PS and IR loadings, only ACL repair with STA fixed at 20° of flexion was not significantly different from the intact state at all knee flexion angles. ACL suture repair had significantly lower in situ forces than the intact ACL with AT, PS, and IR loadings. With AT, PS, and IR loadings, adding suture tape significantly increased the in situ force in the repaired ACL at all knee flexion angles to become closer to that of the intact ACL state. For complete proximal ACL tears, suture repair alone did not restore normal knee laxity or normal ACL in situ force. However, adding suture tape to augment the repair resulted in knee laxity closer to that of the intact ACL. STA with fixation at 20° of knee flexion was superior to fixation with the knee in full extension. The study findings suggest that ACL repair with STA fixed at 20° could be considered in the treatment of femoral sided ACL tears in the appropriate patient population.

Acute Anterior Cruciate Ligament Rupture: Repair or Reconstruction? Five-Year Results of a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Background: High-level evidence for short–term outcomes of contemporary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) suture repair (ACLSR) in comparison with those of ACL reconstruction (ACLR) is scarce. High-level evidence for mid- and long–term results is lacking, whereas outcomes of ACLSR in several historical studies were shown to deteriorate at midterm follow–up after initial good short–term outcomes. Hypothesis: Contemporary ACLSR is noninferior to ACLR in the treatment of acute ACL rupture in terms of patient self–reported outcomes at 5 years postoperatively. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1. Methods: A total of 48 patients were enrolled in the study and, after stratification and randomization, underwent either dynamic augmented (DA) ACLSR or anatomic single–bundle ACLR. The primary outcome measure was the International Knee Documentation Committee 2000 (IKDC) subjective score (IKDCs). Furthermore, the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), Tegner Activity Scale score (TAS), visual analog scale score for satisfaction (VASs), IKDC physical examination score (IKDCpe), limb symmetry index for quadriceps (LSIq) and hamstrings (LSIh) strength and jump test battery (LSIj), Kellgren-Lawrence grade of osteoarthritis (OA), and rate of adverse events were recorded. Analyses were based on an intention–to–treat principle. Results: The lower limit of the 2–sided 95% CI for the median IKDCs of the DA ACLSR group (n = 23; 75.9) was lower than the prespecified noninferiority margin (n = 21; 86.6). Therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected. However, the upper limit of the 2–sided 95% CI of the DA ACLSR group (100.0) was higher than the median IKDCs of the ACLR group (96.6), rendering the result for noninferiority inconclusive. No statistical difference was found between groups for median IKDCs (repair, 90.2; reconstruction, 96.6). Furthermore, no statistically significant differences were found for any of the secondary outcome measures for the DA ACLSR compared with the ACLR group: KOOS Symptoms, 92.9 versus 96.4; KOOS Pain, 100 versus 97.2; KOOS Activities of Daily Living, 100 versus 100; KOOS Sport and Recreation, 85.0 versus 100; TAS score, 7.0 versus 6.5; VASs, 9.2 versus 8.7; IKDCpe, 81.8% versus 100%; LSIq, ≥91.6 versus ≥88.2; LSIh, ≥95.1 versus ≥90.7; LSIj, ≥94.2 versus ≥97.6; OA grade 0, 90.9% versus 77.8%; clinical ACL failure rate, 20.8% versus 27.2%; and repeat surgery rate, 37.5% versus 20.0%, respectively. Conclusion: It remains inconclusive whether the effectiveness of DA ACLSR is noninferior to that of ACLR in terms of subjective patient–reported outcomes as measured using the IKDCs. Although DA ACLSR may be a viable treatment option for patients with acute ACL rupture, caution must be exercised when considering this treatment for young, active patients, corresponding to the present study population.

ACL repair for athletes?

BackgroundThe current gold standard treatment for an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear in an athlete is an arthroscopic ACL reconstruction with autografts. This restores the knee stability but is associated with unique complications like graft re-tear, kinesiophobia and graft donor site morbidity. ACL suture repair (ACLSR) is an attractive alternative method of surgical management of this injury. Current science of ACLSRThe potential advantages of performing a repair are the preservation of native biology and proprioceptive function of ACL, elimination of a graft and preservation of bone stock. The purported benefits are better stability, reduction of kinesiophobia and faster rehabilitation. ACLSR is now performed only for proximal (femoral-sided) tears in the acute phase, when the tissue quality is good and using high-strength nonabsorbable sutures. There are several techniques for performing ACLSR but broadly speaking are either non-augmented, static augmented with suture tape, dynamic augmented or using bio-scaffolds. Clinical outcome of ACLSRThere is a lot of literature on ACLSRs including case series, cohort studies and randomized controlled trials. The results from these studies are encouraging but mostly pertain to patient reported outcome measures, are in small numbers and in the short-term. The results are also inconsistent across different studies and not specifically performed for the athletic population. Moreover, most of these studies are from the innovator or designer surgeons and groups and have not been independently validated. ConclusionCurrently, there is insufficient evidence to recommend ACLSR as a preferred method of managing even acute proximal tears in athletes. Improved rates of return to sports, lower retear rate and lesser kinesiophobia needs to be proven in athletes.

Standard MRI May Not Predict Specific Acute Anterior Cruciate Ligament Rupture Characteristics.

Background:There has been renewed interest in the concept of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) suture repair (ACLSR). Morphologic characteristics of the ruptured ACL remnant play a role in deciding whether a patient is eligible for ACLSR. However, no classification of these characteristics of ACL rupture on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans has yet been compared with intraoperative findings in the context of ACLSR.Purpose:To investigate the value of using preoperative MRI to predict specific characteristics of acute complete ACL rupture.Study Design:Cohort study (diagnostic); Level of evidence, 2.Methods:A total of 25 patients were included. Two radiologists classified ACL rupture location and pattern on preoperative 1.5-T MRI scans with a standard sequence; the results were compared with the corresponding findings at arthroscopy conducted by a single surgeon. The agreement between the MRI and surgical findings was calculated using Cohen κ values. Furthermore, the reliability coefficients of the MRI classifications within and between radiologists were calculated.Results:The agreement between MRI classification and arthroscopic findings for ACL rupture location was slight (Cohen κ, 0.016 [radiologist 1] and 0.087 [radiologist 2]), and for ACL rupture pattern, this was poor to slight (Cohen κ, <0 and 0.074). The intraobserver reliability of MRI classification for ACL rupture location was moderate for radiologist 1 and slight for radiologist 2 (Cohen κ, 0.526 and 0.061, respectively), and for ACL rupture pattern, this was slight for radiologist 1 and 2 (Cohen κ, 0.051 and 0.093, respectively). The interobserver reliability of MRI classification for ACL rupture location and pattern was slight between radiologists (Cohen κ, 0.172 and 0.040, respectively).Conclusion:In the current study, we found poor to slight agreement between MRI classification and arthroscopic findings of specific ACL rupture characteristics. In addition, the intra- and interobserver reliability for MRI classification of the ACL rupture characteristics was slight to moderate.

Efficacy of Nonaugmented, Static Augmented, and Dynamic Augmented Suture Repair of the Ruptured Anterior Cruciate Ligament: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament suture repair (ACLSR) was abandoned late last century in favor of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction (ACLR) because of overall disappointing results. However, in recent years there has been renewed and increasing interest in ACLSR for treatment of ACL ruptures. Several contemporary ACLSR techniques are being used, but any difference in effectiveness is unclear. Hypothesis: Contemporary nonaugmented (NA), static augmented (SA), and dynamic augmented (DA) ACLSR leads to (1) comparable outcomes overall and (2) comparable outcomes between proximal third, middle third, and combined ACL rupture locations (a) within and (b) between ACLSR technique categories. Study Design: Systematic review. Methods: An electronic search was performed in the MEDLINE and Embase databases for the period between January 1, 2010, and August 7, 2019. All articles describing clinical and patient-reported outcomes for ACLSR were identified and included, and outcomes for NA, SA, and DA ACLSR categories were compared. Results: A total of 31 articles and 2422 patients were included. The majority of articles (65%) and patients (89%) reported outcomes of DA ACLSR. Overall, there was high heterogeneity in study characteristics and level as well as quality of evidence (19 level 4; 7 level 3; 3 level 2; and 2 level 1). Most studies indicated excellent patient-reported outcomes. Overall, the variability in (and the maximum of) the reported failure rate was high within all ACLSR categories. The variability in (and the maximum of) the reported rate of all other complications was highest for DA ACLSR. Regarding ACL rupture location, the failure rate was highest in proximal ACL ruptures within the SA and DA ACLSR categories; rates of all other reported complications were highest in combined ACL ruptures within the DA ACLSR category. However, no studies in the NA category and only 1 study in the SA ACLSR category evaluated combined ACL ruptures. The majority of studies comparing ACLSR and ACLR found no differences in outcomes. Conclusion: The amount of high-quality evidence for contemporary ACLSR is poor. This makes it difficult to interpret differences among ACLSR categories and among ACL rupture locations and, though promising, to establish the role of ACLSR in the treatment of ACL ruptures. More high-quality large randomized clinical trials with longer follow-up comparing ACLSR and ACLR are needed.

Acute Anterior Cruciate Ligament Rupture: Repair or Reconstruction? Two-Year Results of a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Background: Contemporary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) suture repair techniques have been subject to renewed interest in recent years. Although several clinical studies have yielded good short-term results, high-quality evidence is lacking in regard to the effectiveness of this treatment compared with ACL reconstruction. Hypothesis: Dynamic augmented ACL suture repair is at least as effective as anatomic single-bundle ACL reconstruction for the treatment of acute ACL rupture in terms of patient self-reported outcomes at 2 years postoperatively. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1. Methods: After stratification and randomization, 48 patients underwent either dynamic augmented ACL suture repair or ACL reconstruction with a single-bundle, all-inside, semitendinosus technique. The International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective score at 2 years postoperatively was the primary outcome measure. Patient-reported outcomes (IKDC subjective score, Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score, Tegner score, visual analog scale for satisfaction), clinical outcomes (IKDC physical examination score, leg symmetry index for the quadriceps, hamstrings strength, and jump test battery), and radiological outcomes as well as adverse events including reruptures were recorded. Analyses were based on an intention-to-treat principle. Results: The lower limit for the median IKDC subjective score of the repair group (86.2) fell within the prespecified noninferiority margin, confirming noninferiority of dynamic augmented ACL suture repair compared with ACL reconstruction. No statistical difference was found between groups for median IKDC subjective score (repair, 95.4; reconstruction, 94.3). Overall, 2 reruptures (8.7%) occurred in the dynamic ACL suture repair group and 4 reruptures (19.0%) in the ACL reconstruction group; further, 5 repeat surgeries—other than for revision ACL surgery—took place in 4 patients from the dynamic ACL suture repair group (20.8%) and in 3 patients from the ACL reconstruction group (14.3%). Conclusion: Dynamic augmented ACL suture repair is not inferior to ACL reconstruction in terms of subjective patient-reported outcomes as measured with the IKDC subjective score 2 years postoperatively. However, for reasons other than revision ACL surgery due to rerupture, a higher number of related adverse events leading to repeat surgery were seen in the dynamic augmented ACL suture repair group within 2 years postoperatively. Clinical Relevance: Dynamic augmented ACL suture repair might be a viable treatment option for patients with an acute ACL rupture. Registration: NCT02310854 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier).

Arthroscopic treatment for tibial “Peel off” tears in anterior cruciate ligament-case report

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury was very common, and its reconstruction is one of the most commonly performed orthopaedic surgeries. A standard treatment option for ACL complete rupture in active young patients is debridement of remnant tissue and reconstruction with various types of tendon graft. However, "A tibial peel off tear" of ACL without bony avulsion can be treated using preservation of original ACL and trans-osseous pullout suture repair. The IKDC subjective score was 90, the objective score was A, and the Lysholm score was 95 at 24 months after surgery. KT-2000 arthrometer showed 2 mm side-to-side difference. Pivot shift test and Lachman test were negative, and there was no limitation in range of motion. Patient returned to full activities including sports and satisfied with the surgical results. In the postoperative MRI at 6 months after the surgery, the continuity of ACL was well maintained without any Cyclops lesion. We believe that trans-osseous pullout suture repair could be included as an alternative method in this "tibial peel off" type ACL injury instead of the usual removal of remnant tissue and reconstruction with a graft.

Bone-to-Bone Fixation Enhances Functional Healing of the Porcine Anterior Cruciate Ligament Using a Collagen-Platelet Composite

The purpose of this study was to determine whether providing bony stabilization between the tibia and femur improves the structural properties of an "enhanced" anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repair using a collagen-platelet composite when compared with the traditional (Marshall) suture technique. Twelve pigs underwent unilateral ACL transection and were treated with sutures connecting the bony femoral ACL attachment site to the distal ACL stump (ligament group) or to the tibia through a bone tunnel (tibia group). A collagen-platelet composite was placed around the sutures to enhance the biological repair in both groups. Anteroposterior knee laxity and the graft structural properties were measured after 15 weeks of healing in both the ACL-repaired and contralateral, ACL-intact joints. Enhanced ACL repair with bone-to-bone fixation significantly improved yield load and linear stiffness of the ACL repairs (P < .05) after 15 weeks of healing. However, laxity values of the knees were similar in both groups of repaired knees (P > .10). Using an enhanced ACL suture repair technique that includes bone-to-bone fixation to protect the repair in the initial healing stages resulted in an ACL with improved structural properties after 15 weeks in the porcine model. The healing response of an ACL suture repair by use of a collagen-platelet composite can be enhanced by providing bony stabilization between the tibia and femur to protect the graft during the initial healing process in a translational model.

Collagen scaffold supplementation does not improve the functional properties of the repaired anterior cruciate ligament

Primary suture anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repair was abandoned in favor of reconstruction due to a high rate of clinical failures. However, the insertion of a collagen scaffold loaded with platelets into the wound at the time of suture repair ("enhanced primary repair") has been shown to improve functional healing in animal models. Our objectives were to determine if using a collagen scaffold alone (without platelets) would be sufficient to increase the structural properties of the repaired ACL and decrease postoperative knee laxity compared to suture repair without the scaffold. Eight Yucatan minipigs underwent bilateral ACL transection and suture repair. In one knee, the repair was augmented with a collagen scaffold (SCAFFOLD group) while the other had suture alone (SUTURE group). After 13 weeks of healing, knee joint laxity and the structural properties of the ACL were measured. The addition of the collagen scaffold to suture repair of a transected ACL did not significantly improve the mean anteroposterior knee laxity [SCAFFOLD vs. SUTURE: 6.1 +/- 1.4 vs. 4.4 +/- 2.0 mm (p = 0.07), 8.1 +/- 2.0 vs. 7.6 +/- 2.0 mm (p = 0.66), and 6.2 +/- 1.2 vs. 6.1 +/- 1.8 mm (p = 0.85) at 30 degrees, 60 degrees, and 90 degrees flexion, respectively]. Likewise, there were no significant differences in the structural properties [SCAFFOLD vs. SUTURE: 367 +/- 185.9 vs. 322 +/- 122.0N (p = 0.66) and 90.7 +/- 29.5 vs. 85.0 +/- 30.3N/mm (p = 0.74) for the yield load and linear stiffness, respectively]. The use of a collagen scaffold alone to enhance suture repair of the ACL was ineffective in this animal model. Future work will be directed at stimulating biological activity in the scaffold.

Immature animals have higher cellular density in the healing anterior cruciate ligament than adolescent or adult animals

There has been recent interest in the biologic stimulation of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) healing. However, the effect of age on the ability of ligaments to heal has not yet been defined. In this study, we hypothesized that skeletal maturity would significantly affect the cellular and vascular repopulation rate of an ACL wound site. Skeletally Immature (open physes), Adolescent (closing physes), and Adult (closed physes) Yucatan minipigs underwent bilateral ACL transection and suture repair using a collagen-platelet composite. The response to repair was evaluated histologically at 1, 2, and 4 weeks. All three groups of animals had completely populated the ACL wound site with fibroblasts at 1 week. The Immature animals had a higher cellular density in the wound site than the Adult animals at weeks 2 and 4. Cells in the Immature ligament wounds were larger and more ovoid than in the Adult wounds. There were no significant differences in the vascular density in the wound site. Animal age had a significant effect on the density of cells populating the ACL wound site. Whether this observed cellular difference has an effect on the later biomechanical function of the repaired ACL requires further study.

Collagen-Platelet Composite Enhances Biomechanical and Histologic Healing of the Porcine Anterior Cruciate Ligament

Background The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) fails to heal after traumatic rupture. Furthermore, large-animal models have recently shown that 1-month functional ACL healing is augmented after suture repair when a bioactive scaffold is placed in the tear site. Hypothesis At the time of suture repair, placement of a bioactive scaffold in the ACL wound site would improve the structural properties of the tissue. Study Design Controlled laboratory study. Methods Twenty-seven knees in immature pigs underwent ACL transection and suture repair. A collagen-platelet composite (CPC) was used to supplement the repair in 14 knees. Knees were harvested at 4 weeks, 6 weeks, and 3 months. Mechanical testing and histologic analysis were performed. Results The addition of a CPC to a suture repair resulted in improvements in yield load and linear stiffness of the repair tissue at 3 months, as well as a significant increase in cell density. A reduction in yield load and stiffness occurred at the 6-week time point in both groups, a phase when revascularization was noted. Conclusion The addition of a CPC to a suture repair enhanced the structural properties of the ACL, and the improvement was associated with increased cellularity within the healing ligament. Clinical Relevance The addition of a bioactive scaffold to the wound site improved the functional healing of the ACL after suture repair. The decreased repair strength during revascularization may indicate a need to protect the repair site through this period.