[Clinical experiences with the cruciate ligament 5-PTFE (Gore-Tex) prosthesis. More than 4 year follow-up].

In the last five years over 300 replacements of anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments have been done with the artificial prosthesis Gore-Tex (expanded PTFE, Polytetrafluorethylen) in our hospital. In several cases the PTFE-prosthesis proved to be favourable compared to the autologue grafts. The indication to an implantation of these prosthesis is to be set strictly. The benefits of this artificial prosthesis are: excellent biocompatibility, easy operative handling (implantation by arthroscopy), immediate post-operative fixation and full load capacity, quickly obtain original mobility, reduced rehabilitation time. The new compact diameter design (50 cases) presents improvements as against the previous Gore-Tex, concerning the implantation and possibility of rupture.