Augmentation of tendon healing with butyric acid-impregnated sutures: biomechanical evaluation in a rabbit model.

BACKGROUND: Butyric acid (BA) has been shown to be angiogenic and to enhance transcriptional activity in tissue. These properties of BA have the potential to augment biological healing of a repaired tendon.
PURPOSE: To evaluate this possibility both biomechanically and histologically in an animal tendon repair model. STUDY
DESIGN: Controlled laboratory study.
METHODS: A rabbit Achilles tendon healing model was used to evaluate the biomechanical strength and histological properties at 6 and 12 weeks after repair. Unilateral tendon defects were created in the middle bundle of the Achilles tendon of each rabbit, which were repaired equivalently with either Ultrabraid BA-impregnated sutures or control Ultrabraid sutures.
RESULTS: After 6 weeks, BA-impregnated suture repairs had a significantly increased (P < .0001) Young's modulus and ultimate tensile strength relative to the control suture repairs. At 12 weeks, no statistical difference was observed between these measures. The histological data at 6 weeks demonstrated significantly increased (P < .005) vessel density within 0.25 mm of the repair suture in the BA-impregnated group. There was also an associated 42% increase in the local number of myofibroblasts in the BA samples relative to the controls at this time. By 12 weeks, these differences were not observed.
CONCLUSION: Tendons repaired with BA-impregnated sutures demonstrated improved biomechanical properties at 6 weeks relative to control sutures, suggesting a neoangiogenic mechanism of enhanced healing through an increased myofibroblast presence. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: These findings demonstrate that a relatively simple alteration of suture material may augment early tendon healing to create a stronger repair construct during this time.