Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 26, 2026
Using Q Suture to Enhance Resistance to Gap Formation and Tensile Strength of Repaired Flexor Tendons
Published on: June 3, 2020
Comparison of three suture techniques and three suture materials on gap formation and failure load in ruptured
M Petri1, M Ettinger, A Dratzidis
1Trauma Department, Hannover Medical School (MHH), Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany. petri.maximilian@mh-hannover.de
Introduction:
There is a large variety of ruptures of tendons and ligaments in trauma surgery. Reliable data about the most appropriate suture technique and suture material for ruptured tendons are sparse. This human cadaveric study compares the biomechanical properties of three suture materials and three suture techniques for semitendinosus tendon repair.
Method:
Sixty-three human cadaver hamstring tendons underwent tenotomy and repair with either Baseball suture, Kessler suture, or a novel "Hannover" suture, using either PDS 2-0, Ethibond 2-0, or Fiberwire 2-0. Biomechanical analysis included pretensioning the constructs with 2 N for 50 s, then cyclic loading of 500 cycles between 2 and 15 N at 1 Hz in a servohydraulic testing machine with measurement of elongation. After this, ultimate failure load and failure mode analysis was performed.
Results:
Ruptures repaired by Fiberwire™ as suture material and the Baseball suture technique were able to withstand significantly higher maximum failure loads (72.8 ± 22.0 N, p < 0.001) than the Kessler suture and the Hannover suture, while ruptures repaired by Fiberwire and the Kessler suture technique showed the lowest elongation after cyclic loading (14.6 ± 3.8 mm, p = 0.15).
Conclusion:
These findings may be of relevance for the future clinical treatment of tendon ruptures. Further in vivo clinical application studies are desirable for the future.
