Does Manual Drilling Improve the Healing of Bone-Hamstring Tendon Grafts in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction? A Histological and Biomechanical Study in a Rabbit Model.

BACKGROUND: Heat necrosis due to motorized drilling during anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction could be a factor in delayed healing at the bone-tendon graft interface. HYPOTHESIS: The process of osteointegration could be enhanced using manual drilling. It reduces the invasiveness of mechanical-thermal stress normally caused by the traditional motorized drill bit. STUDY DESIGN: Controlled laboratory study. METHODS: ACL reconstruction using semitendinosus tendon autografts was performed in 28 skeletally mature female New Zealand white rabbits, which were randomly divided into 3 groups. In group A (n = 12), the tunnels were drilled using a motorized device; in group B (n = 12), the tunnels were drilled using a manual drill bit; and group C (n = 4) served as a control with sham surgical procedures. The healing process in the tunnels was assessed histologically at 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks and graded according to the Tendon-Bone Tunnel Healing (TBTH) scoring system. In addition, another 25 rabbits were used for biomechanical testing. The structural properties of the femur-ACL graft-tibia complex, from animals sacrificed at 8 weeks postoperatively, were determined using uniaxial tests. Stiffness (N/mm) and ultimate load to failure (N) were determined from the resulting load-elongation curves. RESULTS: The time course investigation showed that manual drilling (group B) had a higher TBTH score and improved mechanical behavior, reflecting better organized collagen fiber continuity at the bone-fibrous tissue interface, better integration between the graft and bone, and early mineralized chondrocyte-like tissue formation at all the time points analyzed with a maximum difference at 4 weeks (TBTH score: 5.4 [group A] vs 12.3 [group B]; P < .001). Stiffness (23.1 ± 8.2 vs 17.8 ± 6.3 N/mm, respectively) and ultimate load to failure (91.8 ± 60.4 vs 55.0 ± 18.0 N, respectively) were significantly enhanced in the specimens treated with manual drilling compared with motorized drilling (P < .05 for both). CONCLUSION: The use of manual drilling during ACL reconstruction resulted in better tendon-to-bone healing during the crucial early weeks. Manual drilling was able to improve the biological and mechanical properties of bone-hamstring tendon graft healing and was able to restore postoperative graft function more quickly. Tunnel drilling results in bone loss and deficient tendon-bone healing, and heat necrosis after tunnel enlargement may cause mechanical stress, contributing to a delay in healing. Manual drilling preserved the bone stock inside the tunnel, reduced heat necrosis, and offered a better microenvironment for faster healing at the interface. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Based on study results, manual drilling could be used successfully in human ACL reconstruction, but further clinical studies are needed. A clinical alternative, called the original "all-inside" technique, has been developed for ACL reconstruction. In this technique, the femoral and tibial tunnels are manually drilled only halfway through the bone for graft fixation, reducing bone loss. Data from this study suggest that hamstring tendon-to-bone healing can be improved using a manual drilling technique to form femoral and tibial tunnels.

Magnesium ring device to restore function of a transected anterior cruciate ligament in the goat stifle joint.

A bioresorbable, mono-crystalline magnesium (Mg) ring device and suture implantation technique were designed to connect the ends of a transected anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) to restabilize the knee and load the ACL to prevent disuse atrophy of its insertion sites and facilitate its healing. To test its application, cadaveric goat stifle joints were evaluated using a robotic/universal force-moment sensor testing system in three states: Intact, ACL-deficient, and after Mg ring repair, at 30°, 60°, and 90° of joint flexion. Under a 67-N anterior tibial load simulating that used in clinical examinations, the corresponding anterior tibial translation (ATT) and in-situ forces in the ACL and medial meniscus for 0 and 100 N of axial compression were obtained and compared with a control group treated with suture repair. In all cases, Mg ring repair reduced the ATT by over 50% compared to the ACL-deficient joint, and in-situ forces in the ACL and medial meniscus were restored to near normal levels, showing significant improvement over suture repair. These findings suggest that Mg ring repair could successfully stabilize the joint and load the ACL immediately after surgery, laying the framework for future in vivo studies to assess its utility for ACL healing. © 2016 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 34:2001-2008, 2016.

Postpartum Sacral Stress Fracture: An Atypical Case Report.

Sacral stress fractures are common in elderly people. However, sacral stress fracture should be always screened in the differential diagnoses of low back pain during the postpartum period. We present a case of sacral fracture in a thirty-six-year-old woman with low back pain and severe right buttock pain two days after cesarean section delivery of a 3.9 Kg baby. The diagnosis was confirmed by MRI and CT scan, while X-ray was unable to detect the fracture. Contribution of mechanical factors during the cesarean section is not a reasonable cause of sacral fracture. Pregnancy and lactation could be risk factors for sacral stress fracture even in atraumatic delivery such as cesarean section. Our patient had no risk factors for osteoporosis except for pregnancy and lactation. Transient or focal osteoporosis is challenging to assess and it cannot be ruled out even if serum test and mineral density are within the normal range.

Fixation techniques for the anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: early follow-up. A systematic review of level I and II therapeutic studies.

The purpose of our study was that to systematically review the fixation techniques for the ACL reconstruction and associated clinical outcomes at the early follow-up. Systematic search on three electronic databases (Cochrane register, Medline and Embase) of fixation devices used for primary ACL reconstruction with doubled semitendinosus and gracilis and bone-patellar tendon-bone autografts in randomized clinical trials of level I and II of evidence published from January 2001 to December 2011. Therapeutic studies collected were with a minimum 12-month follow-up, and the clinical outcomes were evaluated by at least one of International Knee Documentation Committee, Lysholm and Tegner functional scales and at least one of the following knee stability tests: arthrometric AP tibial translation, Lachman test and pivot-shift test. Nineteen articles met the inclusion criteria. At the femoral side cross-pin, metallic interference screw, bioabsorbable interference screw, and suspensory device were used in 32.3, 27.3, 24.8, 15.5% of patients, respectively. At the tibial side fixation was achieved with metallic interference screw, bioabsorbable interference screw, screw and plastic sheath, screw post and cross-pin in 38.7, 31, 15.7, 12.8, and 1.7% of patients, respectively. Side-to-side anterior-posterior tibial translation was 1.9 ± 0.9, 1.5 ± 0.9, 1.5 ± 0.8, 2.2 ± 0.4 mm for metallic interference screw, bioabsorbable screw, cross-pin and suspensory device, respectively. At least two-third of all the patients achieved good-to-excellent clinical outcomes. Rate of failure was 6.1, 3.3, 1.7 and 1.2% for bioabsorbable interference screw, metallic interference screw, cross-pin and suspensory device, respectively. Clinical outcomes are good to excellent in almost two-third of the patients but several pitfalls that affect the current fixation techniques as graft tensioning such as graft-tunnel motion are still unaddressed.

ACL Reconstruction: Choosing the Graft.

Rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament is one of the most common ligament injuries in sports traumatology. The need for surgical anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction is justified by its anatomical characteristics. Key considerations when choosing a graft include the potential for bone integration and the risk of failure. Bone sclerosis around the tunnel affects the integration of the graft. For this reason, one aspect upon which orthopedic surgeons should focus is the biology of the bone-graft interface. Although the BPTB graft is still used, hamstrings and synthetic grafts have become increasingly widespread and popular over the years. An allograft certainly requires more long-term follow-up to validate its use in response to functional, clinical and biological requirements.