Cyclic and Load-to-Failure Testing of Inside-out Ethibond Sutures in a Meniscal Model

Background Uniaxial biomechanical testing of sutures and devices remains the gold standard as in-vivo testing is currently not feasible. The purpose of this study was thus to biomechanically test non-absorbable Ethibond 2-0. Methods In nine porcine menisci, a bucket-handle tear was created and a repair was performed in a vertical inside-out technique using a 2-0 Ethibond suture. The menisci were clamped to a mechanical testing system and gap formation was recorded using a high-resolution digital camera. Vertical displacement, load-to-failure were measured and stiffness was calculated. Results The initial displacement was 5.89±1.42mm with increasing displacement between 1 and 500 cycles. The increase between cycle 300 and 500 was 0.22mm and was lower than between cycle 1 to 300 (p=0.21) whereas the increase between cycle 100 and 300 was not significantly different from 1 to 100 (p=0.41). The suture failed at 60.5±7.9N. The stiffness was 19.4±7.8N/mm. Discussion In conclusion, the Ethibond TM 2-0 vertical repair yields satisfactory biomechanical results compared to other sutures.