BACKGROUND Degenerative rotator cuff tears are a significant cause of shoulder pain in the aging population. Rotator cuff repair surgery may be more successful when growth factors are delivered to the repair site. This study was designed to determine the cellular processes involved in normal bone-to-tendon healing and the current approaches used for biologic augmentation of rotator cuff repair....

Tendon stem cells are multi-potent adult stem cells with broad differentiation plasticity that render them of great importance in cell-based therapies for the repair of tendons. We called them tendon-derived stem cells (TDSCs) to indicate the tissue origin from which the stem cells were isolated in vitro. Based on the work of other sources of MSCs and specific work on TDSCs, some properties of ...

Tendon reconstruction using grafts often results in adhesions that limit joint flexion. These adhesions are precipitated by inflammation, fibrosis, and the paucity of tendon differentiation signals during healing. In order to study this problem, we developed a mouse model in which the flexor digitorum longus (FDL) tendon is reconstructed using a live autograft or a freeze-dried allograft, and i...

The presence of uniformly small collagen fibrils in tendon repair is believed to play a major role in suboptimal tendon healing. Collagen V is significantly elevated in healing tendons and plays an important role in fibrillogenesis. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a particular chain of collagen V on the fibrillogenesis of Sprague-Dawley rat tenocytes, as well as the...

The regulatory mechanisms involved in tendon homeostasis and repair are not fully understood. Accumulating data, however, demonstrate that the nervous system, in addition to afferent (sensory) functions, through efferent neuronal pathways plays an active role in regulating pain, inflammation, and tissue repair processes. Thus, in normal-, healing- and tendinopathic tendons three major neuronal ...

A composite biodegradable polymeric model was developed to enhance tendon graft healing. This model included a biodegradable polylactide (PLA) bolt as the bone anchor and a poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanofibrous membrane embedded with collagen as a biomimic patch to promote tendon-bone interface integration. Degradation rate and compressive strength of the PLA bolt were measured afte...

Rotator cuff disease is the most common condition affecting the shoulder, causing significant pain and functional impairment in the adult population. Improvements in arthroscopic instrumentation and suture anchor technology have allowed the development of stronger constructs with multiple suture configurations, allowing repair of large and massive tears through minimally invasive means. However...

We report a case of staged flexor tendon reconstruction using a silicon Hunter tendon rod implant. This implant is placed during the first stage of the two-stage procedure to facilitate formation of a pseudotendon sheath. The implant is removed and the tendon graft placed during the second stage of the procedure. Radiography after the first stage of the procedure assesses healing of concomitant...