Hurt-Knees Rx: Surgical method promotes ligament regeneration

NEW GROWTH. Ligament (arrow) is vulnerable to damage in the human knee (left). Cross-section of a recently developed artificial ligament (right) 12 weeks after surgery shows new ligament tissue (green indicates collagen, purple indicates cells) filling the spaces between the polymer threads (white) of the implant.Artville; PNAS

Over 200,000 people tear their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the knee. Orthopedic surgeons traditionally fix the problem by harvesting another less important ligament from elsewhere in the leg and replacing the torn ACL with this ligament. Scientists at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville may be on track to eliminating the need to harvest the extra ligament; the researchers have developed an artificial ACL that led to new tissue growth in rabbit knees. The scientists implanted rabbit ligament cells into a braided mesh of polyL-lactide which was then formed into an artificial ACL. In just 12 weeks after implantation, significant growth of new ligament was recorded. The polymer is biodegradable, thus the tissue will eventually completely replace the artificial ligament. While many kinks need to worked out and more trials done, this is an exciting development in the orthopedic arena!

http://sciencenews.org/articles/20070224/fob3.asp