Russlies M, Rüther P, Köller W, Stomberg P, Behrens P
Klinik für Orthopädie, Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein - Campus Lübeck. Lübeck, Germany.
Z Orthop Ihre Grenzgeb. 2003 Jul-Aug;141(4):465-71. doi: 10.1055/s-2003-41560.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the biomechanical quality of cartilage and repair tissue in a sheep's knee. 4 standardized 7 mm defects were created on the medial femoral condyle and on the patellar groove (n = 22). These were treated with 4 different cartilage repair procedures and examined 1 year later.
The different groups were: (1) a cell-seeded collagen type-I/III-membrane (Chondro Gide(R)) glued into the defect; (2) a collagen type-I/III-membrane, sutured and cells injected underneath; (3) an engineered, cell-seeded collagen type-II-membrane, glued; (4) periosteum sutured and cells injected underneath; (5) CONTROLS: healthy contra-lateral knees. Indentation tests were performed to reveal the biomechanical capacity. From creep indentation over 35 s a "25-s creep index" was calculated. A high creep index means that the cartilage can undergo greater and faster compression.
The repair tissue was significantly thinner than the normal cartilage. The mean creep index of all repair tissues was measured at 111 and 125, respectively (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences among the treated groups.
In this animal study, none of the induced repair tissues was biomechanically comparable to genuine articular cartilage.
