1. Comparison of Fixation Techniques of 3D-Woven Poly(ϵ-Caprolactone) Scaffolds for Cartilage Repair in a Weightbearing Porcine Large Animal Model
- Author
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Robert L. Mauck, Farshid Guilak, Kerry O Orji, Alexander L. Neuwirth, Marcelo Batista Bonadio, James M. Friedman, Henning Madry, Mackenzie L. Sennett, George R. Dodge, Franklin T. Moutos, James L. Carey, Bradley T. Estes, and Niobra M. Keah
- Subjects
Cartilage, Articular ,Male ,Scaffold ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Swine ,medicine.medical_treatment ,0206 medical engineering ,Biomedical Engineering ,Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation ,02 engineering and technology ,Fibrin Tissue Adhesive ,Condyle ,Fibrin ,Weight-Bearing ,03 medical and health sciences ,Arthroscopy ,Lactones ,0302 clinical medicine ,Suture (anatomy) ,Basic Science ,Immunology and Allergy ,Medicine ,Animals ,Fibrin glue ,Caproates ,Fixation (histology) ,Arthrotomy ,030222 orthopedics ,biology ,Tissue Engineering ,Tissue Scaffolds ,business.industry ,Cartilage ,020601 biomedical engineering ,Surgery ,Disease Models, Animal ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,biology.protein ,Swine, Miniature ,business ,Cartilage Diseases ,Biomedical engineering - Abstract
Objective To test different fixation methods of a 3-dimensionally woven poly(ϵ-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffold within chondral defects of a weightbearing large animal model. Methods Full thickness chondral defects were made in the femoral condyles of 15 adult male Yucatan mini-pigs. Two surgical approaches were compared including total arthrotomy (traditional) and a retinaculum-sparing, minimally invasive surgery (MIS) approach. Following microfracture (MFX), scaffolds were placed without fixation or were fixed with fibrin glue, suture, or subchondral anchor. Experimental endpoints were between 1 and 6 weeks. Micro–computed tomography and histology were used to assess samples. Results The MIS approach was superior as the traditional approach caused medial condyle cartilage wear. One of 13 (7.7%) of scaffolds without fixation, 4 of 11 (36.3%) fibrin scaffolds, 1 of 4 (25%) of sutured scaffolds, and 9 of 9 (100%) of anchor-fixed scaffolds remained in place. Histology demonstrated tissue filling with some overgrowth of PCL scaffolds. Conclusions Of the methods tested, the MIS approach coupled with subchondral anchor fixation provided the best scaffold retention in a mini-pig chondral defect model. This finding has implications for fixation strategies in future animal studies and potential future human use.
- Published
- 2017