Bone Grafts Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Bone Grafts, including details on spine fusion, surgery, procedure, risks.

Investigation of a hybrid method of soft tissue graft fixation for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Au AG, Otto DD, Raso VJ, Amirfazli A

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G8.

To increase knee stability following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, development of increasingly stronger and stiffer fixation is required. This study assessed the initial pullout force, stiffness of fixation, and failure modes for a novel hybrid fixation method combining periosteal and direct fixation using porcine femoral bone. A soft tissue graft was secured by combining both an interference screw and an EndoButton (Smith and Nephew Endoscopy, Andover, MA). The results were compared with the traditional direct fixation method using a titanium interference screw. Twenty porcine hindlimbs were divided into two groups. Specimens were loaded in line with the bone tunnel on a materials testing machine. Maximum pullout force of the hybrid fixation (588+/-37 N) was significantly greater than with an interference screw alone (516+/-37 N). The stiffness of the hybrid fixation (52.1+/-12.8 N/mm) was similar to that of screw fixation (56.5+/-10.2 N/mm). Graft pullout was predominant for screw fixation, whereas a combination of graft pullout and graft failure was seen for hybrid fixation. These results indicate that initial pullout force of soft tissue grafts can be increased by using the suggested novel hybrid fixation method.

Published 7 March 2005 in Knee, 12(2): 149-53.
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