The Role of Fibrin Glue and Suture on the Fixation of Ultra Frozen Preserved Meniscus Transplantation in Rabbits

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the ability of fibrin adhesive in promoting the meniscus fixation within two, four and eight weeks compared to the conventional soft-tissue suture technique. Materials and Methods: 36 right medial menisci of rabbits preserved at negative 73° Celsius for 30 days were transplanted to animals of the same sample and fixed with soft-tissue suture or fibrin glue. After 2, 4 or 8 weeks, the appearance of the menisci and the quality of fixation were macroscopically checked and evaluated by a scoring system. The findings were subjected to the statistical study of variance analysis (p ≤ 0.05%). Results: The deep-frozen meniscus preservation maintained the integrity of the meniscus transplant, and, macroscopically, there was no significant reduction of the length of the meniscus in all post-transplant periods (p = 0.015). The menisci fixed with fibrin showed slight changes in color and surface roughness. There were no signs of rejection or infection in both groups. Suture fixation scoring was superior (p = 0.015) in all periods (80% of total fixation) as compared to the setting promoted by fibrin (20% of total fixation). Conclusion: The homologous transplantation of the meniscus of rabbits experienced various degrees of integration to the knee according to the fixation method; the surgical soft tissues suturing technique was shown to be superior in the evaluation of scores compared to the fixation with fibrin adhesive.

Should the meniscal height be considered for preoperative sizing in meniscal transplantation?

“…Human meniscal transplantation is no longer considered an experimental treatment since many clinical studies with hundreds of cases have been published on this topic in the international literature [6,14,[18][19][20][21][22] and several animal and basic science studies have been conducted [23][24][25]. Although most studies have shown good short-and medium-term results, long-term evidence shows that the procedure is not curative, and progression of osteoarthrosis is observed.…”