1991 Volume 40 Issue 1 Pages 7-10
The usefulness of the artificial ligament for ACL reconstruction is not still definite because of various reasons such as its strength, stress shielding, wear particles. We tried the ACL reconstruction using Dacron artificial ligament augmented by iliotibial band and retinaculum in 17 patients. But in 4 cases we had to remove artificial ligament because of tears (3 cases) and hydrarthrosis (1 case). The average period from the time of operation to the remofal was 20 months. We examined removed artificial ligaments histologically, in these 4 cases and got the results that there was no formati on of the new ligament but there was a remarkable foreign body response. Since we had to remove 4 artificial ligaments from 17 cases, Dacron artificial ligament may have a problem in affinity to the tissue for a longer period. It is necessary to think more about the patient's activity, and we must be careful in using artificial ligament for ACL reconstruction.
