Adverse events associated with biodegradable lactide-containing suture anchors

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Biomaterials Science
• Surgical Innovation

Background:

• Biodegradable suture anchors are increasingly used in arthroscopic shoulder procedures.
• Evaluating their safety and complication rates is crucial for clinical practice.
• Understanding potential adverse events, including inflammatory reactions, is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the incidence of adverse events and inflammatory reactions associated with biodegradable anchors in arthroscopic shoulder surgery.
• To identify specific anchor-related complications and their potential causes.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 360 consecutive arthroscopic shoulder procedures using biodegradable suture anchors.
• Data collected included procedure type, anchor composition, and adverse events (reoperations).
• Anchor-related issues and inflammatory reactions were specifically evaluated.

Main Results:

• Overall adverse events (reoperations) occurred in 5% of patients (18/360).
• Only 2 cases (0.5%) were directly anchor-related: anchor breakage and suture eyelet loosening.
• No inflammatory synovitis was observed across all cases.

Conclusions:

• Biodegradable anchors demonstrate a low rate of specific adverse events (0.5%) in arthroscopic shoulder repair.
• Complications were related to anchor design (breakage) and material reabsorption (suture loosening).
• Pure poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) and PLLA/β-tricalcium phosphate anchors showed no inflammatory reactions.