Enlargement of Drill Holes After Use of a Biodegradable Suture Anchor: Quantitative Study on Consecutive Postoperative Radiographs

Graft osteolysis and recurrent instability after the Latarjet procedure performed with bioabsorbable screw fixation

“…The use of PLGA in maxillofacial surgery has been reported to have reliable biocompatibility and disintegration within 12 months 33 with reossification of burr holes, but 35% showed a temporary increase in diameter. Compared with PLA, 40% of drill hole enlargement was reported by Take et al 44 1 year after capsulolabral repair. Compared with PLLA, the reported degradation time varies from 3 to 7 years, 7,19 and progressive osteolysis up to 61% of the radius bone section has been reported after distal biceps repair.…”

“…The screws must provide sufficient compression to encourage bone union and need to maintain their strength until the graft has healed sufficiently, typically at 3 months postoperatively. Finally, osteolysis or drill hole enlargement, which has been reported with the use of bioabsorbable implants for other applications, 2,3,23,38,42,44 could increase the risk of secondary fractures and recurrent shoulder instability.…”

Foreign-Body Reaction and Osteolysis Induced by an Intraosseous Poly-L-Lactic Acid Suture Anchor in the Wrist: Case Report

“…6 The en- In our case, the poly-L-lactic acid suture anchors had dislodged from their insertion site in the lunate. It is difficult to say whether this failure was secondary to a loss of fixation due to an osteolytic reaction in the lunate or implant failure with a fracture at the head-neck junction.…”

“…2,10,15 However, case reports in the shoulder and trauma literature have documented complications from bioabsorbable anchors, including recurrent pain, intraosseous granulomas, foreign-body reactions, synovitis, chondral lesions, and osteolysis. [5][6][7][8]10,16,17 Bostman reported 3-to 9-year follow-up on bioabsorbable implants used in malleolar fractures. 18 Of 1,221 patients, 74 (6%) demonstrated a foreign-body reaction to bioabsorbable implants made from polyglycolide, polylactide, or glycolide-lactide.…”

“…3,4 Despite the apparent advantages, the enthusiasm for polyglycolic and poly-L-lactic acid in the shoulder for labral tears and rotator cuff repairs as well as for fracture fixation has waned as surgeons have become aware of the potential for foreign body reactions. [5][6][7][8][9][10] Anchors made of polyglycolic acid have fallen out of favor as numerous reports of foreign body reaction have been published over the last 20 years. These reactions occurred in the first few months following implantation as the anchors resorbed.…”