Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Orthop. May 18, 2023; 14(5): 319-327
Published online May 18, 2023. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v14.i5.319
Rotator cuff repair with an interposition polypropylene mesh: A biomechanical ovine study
Winston Shang Rong Lim, Andy Khye Soon Yew, Hannah Lie, Siaw Meng Chou, Denny Tijauw Tjoen Lie
Winston Shang Rong Lim, Andy Khye Soon Yew, Hannah Lie, Denny Tijauw Tjoen Lie, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore 169856, Singapore
Siaw Meng Chou, College of Engineering, Nanyang Technical University, Singapore 797101, Singapore
Author contributions: Lim WSR contributed to the data analysis and manuscript preparation; Lie H contributed to study conception, protocol development, specimen testing and manuscript preparation; Yew AKS contributed to study conception, protocol development, specimen testing and critical review of manuscript; Chou SM contributed to study conception, protocol development and critical review of manuscript; Lie DTT contributed to study conception, protocol development and manuscript preparation; and all authors have reviewed the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study involved the use of animal joints procured from a local abattoir and approval from our Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee was not required.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: This study involved the use of animal joints procured from a local abattoir and approval from our Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee was not required.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: No other data is available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Winston Shang Rong Lim, MBBS, Doctor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Singapore General Hospital, Academia Level 4, Outram Road, Singapore 169856, Singapore. limshangrong@msn.com
Received: December 15, 2022
Peer-review started: December 15, 2022
First decision: March 14, 2023
Revised: March 31, 2023
Accepted: April 20, 2023
Article in press: April 20, 2023
Published online: May 18, 2023
Core Tip

Core Tip: Our ex-vivo ovine model demonstrates that the use of a polypropylene mesh is mechanically suitable as an interposition graft for large irreparable rotator cuff tears. Its use results in a repair that is at least as robust as an intact rotator cuff tendon. When paired with a continuous suturing technique, its resultant superior mechanical properties may potentially reduce re-tear rates after repairing large or massive rotator cuff tears.