Rotator cuff regeneration is feasible using this tissue engineering technique.

To establish medical use of tissue engineering technology for ligament and tendon injuries, a scaffold was developed which has sufficient ability for cell growth, cell differentiation, and mechanical properties. The scaffold made from chitosan and 0.1 per cent hyaluronic acid has adequate biodegradability and biocompatibility. An animal experiment showed that the scaffold has less toxicity and less inflammation induction. Furthermore, in-vivo animal experiments showed that the mechanical properties of the engineered ligament or tendon had the possibility to stabilize the joint. It was shown that newly developed hybrid-polymer fibre scaffold has feasibility for joint tissue engineering.

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We hypothesized that patella eversion during total knee arthroplasty (TKA) reduces early return of active knee extension and flexion, quadriceps muscle strength, and postoperative pain. In 100 conventional TKA knees and 100 minimally invasive TKA (MIS TKA) knees, we compared knee range of motion (ROM), postoperative pain, and quadriceps muscle strength at 1 day, 4 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 12 weeks, 1 year, and 5 years after surgery. The differences of surgical approach between MIS TKA and conventional TKA of this study are length of skin incision with subcutaneal flap and patella eversion. In MIS TKA, skin incision is shorter than conventional TKA. Furthermore, patella is not everted in MIS TKA procedure. There were no significant differences in preoperative factors. Postoperative improvement of ROM, postoperative muscle strength recovery, and postoperative improvement of visual analog scale were faster in patients with MIS TKA when compared to that in patients with conventional TKA. On the other hand, no significant difference was observed in complication, 5-year clinical results of subjective knee function score, and the postoperative component angle and lower leg alignment. These results indicate that patella eversion may affect muscle strength recovery and postoperative pain.

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