Bio-absorbable material for reconstruction of the rotator cuff defect

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Poly(L-lactic acid) felt (PLLA felt) was prepared in an attempt to reconstruct the rotator cuff in beagle dogs. Little change was found on the tensile strength of both the cultured PLLA felt and the PLLA felt implanted on the para-vertebral muscle of rabbits up to 12 weeks, although the stiffness of the felt implanted on the muscle of 6 weeks showed a statistically significant increase. When the infraspinatus tendons of beagle dog were reconstructed with the PLLA felt, the ultimate strength of PLLA felt increased 3 times and the stiffness increased 5 times at 16postoperative weeks compared to that of the PLLA felt. They were statistically significant (p<0.01). All the implanted specimens ruptured at the junction between the bone and the PLLA felt. Histological examination demonstrated infiltration of fibrous tissue into the interstices of the PLLA felt fibers. Connection between the infraspinatus tendon and the PLLA felt was tight under formation of scar tissue, but the connective tissue between the bone and PLLA felt fibers was sparse even at 16 and 32 postoperative weeks. A few deteriorated PLLA felt fibers were observed at 32 postoperative weeks. Although the degradation rate of PLLA felt was very low, the PLLA felt was found to be useful for rotator cuff reconstruction.