Arthroscopic Suture Material and Knot Type: An Updated Biomechanical Analysis

Background Several new arthroscopic suture materials are available. It is important for surgeons to know which suture-knot combination provides the strongest construct. Hypothesis The newer, polyblend sutures have dissimilar load-to-failure characteristics. Study Design Controlled laboratory study. Methods The load to failure of 4 knots was evaluated (surgeon's, Duncan loop, Samsung Medical Center [SMC], and Roeder) using 5 No. 2 suture materials (Ethibond, Ticron, FiberWire, ForceFiber, MaxBraid). One surgeon tied all knots. Fifteen samples were tested for each suture-knot configuration. Knots were pretensioned to 10 N, then loaded to failure at a rate of 1.0 mm/s. Failure load recorded was the maximum load applied between 0 and 3 mm of displacement. Cyclic loading of suture-knot samples was performed on 3 knots (surgeon's, Duncan loop, and SMC) using 4 suture materials (Ethibond, FiberWire, ForceFiber, MaxBraid). Six samples were tested for each suture-knot configuration. Knots were cyclically loaded from 5 to 40 N at 0.5 Hz for 1000 cycles, then loaded to failure. Data were compared with analysis of variance and the Tukey multiple range test and considered significant at P