Loss of rotator cuff tendon-to-bone interface pressure after reattachment using a suture anchor

The purpose of this study was to examine the tendon-to-bone interface pressure, contact area, and force after reattaching a tendon to bone by use of a suture and suture anchor. Repairs were made in 8 ovine shoulders in vitro, by use of 3 suture types in each: Ethibond, polydioxanone, or Orthocord. A Tekscan pressure sensor was placed between the tendon and bone and monitored for 1 hour after the repair. The principal finding was a significant loss of approximately 60% of the contact parameters immediately after the suture was tied, followed by further significant loss over the next hour to a mean of only 14% of the initial readings. We concluded that pressure measurement systems that only record the initial maximum pressure would yield overly optimistic results for the actual repair pressure after the repair is completed. The Tekscan system, however, allowed us to monitor pressure reductions that occurred both during and after the repair.