The effect of in situ freezing on rabbit patellar tendon. A histologic, biochemical, and biomechanical analysis

Cell necrosis has been well documented as one of the many changes that occur in autogenous tendon when it is used to reconstruct the anterior cruciate ligament. The purpose of this experiment was to isolate cell necrosis as a variable and study its effect on the patellar tendon. To accomplish this,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of sports medicine 1992-07, Vol.20 (4), p.401-405
Main Authors: Graf, B. K., Fujisaki, K., Vanderby, R. Jr, Vailas, A. C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Biomechanical Phenomena
Causes of
Cell Death
Collagen - analysis
Fibroblasts
Freezing
Life Sciences (General)
Medical sciences
Necrosis
Orthopedic surgery
Patella
Patella - metabolism
Patella - pathology
Patella - physiopathology
Physiological aspects
Rabbits
Radiotherapy. Instrumental treatment. Physiotherapy. Reeducation. Rehabilitation, orthophony, crenotherapy. Diet therapy and various other treatments (general aspects)
Space life sciences
Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases
Tendons - metabolism
Tendons - pathology
Tendons - physiopathology
Transplantation immunology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Cell necrosis has been well documented as one of the many changes that occur in autogenous tendon when it is used to reconstruct the anterior cruciate ligament. The purpose of this experiment was to isolate cell necrosis as a variable and study its effect on the patellar tendon. To accomplish this, both knees of 25 New Zealand White rabbits were operated on. In one knee, a 5-mm wide band of patellar tendon was subjected to two rapid freeze-thaw cycles, while the other knee underwent sham surgery. Histologic evaluation showed a zone of necrosis at 2 and 4 weeks with cellular repopulation complete at 8 weeks. patellar tendon cross-sectional area was 0.118 cm2 at 8 weeks for the frozen specimens compared to 0.102 cm2 for the sham-operated controls. This difference was significant at the P = 0.025 level. Mechanical testing at 4 and 8 weeks revealed no significant changes in tendon length, maximum load, or stiffness. The collagen content was also unchanged at both 4 and 8 weeks.
ISSN:0363-5465
1552-3365
DOI:10.1177/036354659202000406