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Athymic Rat Model for Evaluation of Engineered Anterior Cruciate Ligament Grafts
Published on: March 26, 2015
Comparison of ACL fixation devices using cadaveric grafts
David C Flanigan1, Praveen Kanneganti, Daniel P Quinn
1Sports Medicine Center, The Ohio State University, 2050 Kenny Road, Suite 3300, Columbus, OH 43221, USA. flaniganOSU_ortho@gmail.com
The Journal of Knee Surgery
|October 11, 2011
Summary
Newer femoral fixation devices for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, Endobutton direct and Femoral intrafix, demonstrate comparable biomechanical strength to established methods. These options may offer improved graft placement without sacrificing performance.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedic surgery
- Biomedical engineering
- Sports medicine
Background:
- Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction commonly uses hamstring tendon grafts.
- Femoral fixation is crucial for graft stability and successful reconstruction.
- Evaluating newer fixation devices is essential for optimizing surgical outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the biomechanical properties of two newer femoral fixation devices (Endobutton direct, Femoral intrafix) against two established devices (AXL Crosspin, Biotransfix II) for hamstring grafts in ACL reconstruction.
Main Methods:
- Cadaveric bovine knees were used to test paired hamstring tendon allografts fixed with four different devices.
- Phase I involved single load to failure and stiffness testing.
- Phase II assessed peak displacement under cyclic loading (1000 cycles).
Main Results:
- No significant differences were found between the four fixation devices in terms of failure load (p = 0.42), stiffness (p = 0.39), or peak displacement during cyclic loading (p = 0.32).
- The newer devices, Endobutton direct and Femoral intrafix, exhibited biomechanical performance comparable to the AXL Crosspin and Biotransfix II.
Conclusions:
- Endobutton direct and Femoral intrafix offer comparable biomechanical strength to established fixation methods for hamstring grafts in ACL reconstruction.
- These newer devices, designed for more anatomic femoral tunnel placement, represent a viable alternative without compromising graft fixation strength.