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Published on: November 13, 2016
A more flattened bone tunnel has a positive effect on tendon-bone healing in the early period after ACL
Fengyuan Zhao1, Xiaoqing Hu1, Jiahao Zhang1
1Institute of Sports Medicine, Beijing Key Laboratory of Sports Injuries, Peking University Third Hospital, NO. 49 North Garden Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100191, People's Republic of China.
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether a flattened bone tunnel has a positive effect on the tendon-bone healing (TBH) process in the early period after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction.
Methods:
Seventy-two New Zealand White rabbits were randomly allocated into two groups, the flattened tunnel (FT) group and the conventional round tunnel (RT) group. We compared the cross-sectional areas and diameters of the bone tunnels between the two groups through computed tomography (CT) scanning. TBH results between the two groups were assessed by histological analysis, micro-CT scanning and biomechanical tests at 4 weeks, 8 weeks and 12 weeks after operation.
Results:
The cross-sectional areas of the bone tunnels between the two groups were almost the same. However, the shape of bone tunnels in the FT group was more flattened. A faster cellular and collagen remoulding process were found in the FT group. Semiquantitative histological analysis of Safranin O staining showed that there was more fibrocartilage formation in the interface region in the FT group (P < 0.05). Sirius Red staining showed that the tissues in the interface areas were more intense in the FT group. Micro-CT scanning showed that more new bone formation could be found in the interface region in the FT group. The biomechanical tests also showed that FT ACL reconstruction will result in a stronger regenerated tendon-bone interface.
Conclusions:
Our study found that a flattened bone tunnel accelerated TBH in the early period after ACL reconstruction surgery in a rabbit model, which lays the groundwork for further clinical practice of this ACL reconstruction method.
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