Abstract
Objectives The aim of this study was to compare the strength of three described techniques for
repair of the medial crural fascia to the strength of the intact fascia of the paired
limbs. We hypothesized that intact controls would have higher peak loads at failure
than repair groups and that the modified Mason–Allen suture pattern would have the
highest peak load at failure of the repair groups.
Materials and Methods Canine cadavers (n = 22) were randomly assorted into three groups. Group A: a continuous suture pattern.
Group B: five equally spaced simple interrupted cruciate sutures over a simple continuous
suture pattern. Group C: an interrupted modified Mason–Allen suture pattern. The mid-portion
of the crural fascia was incised in Groups A and C, while Group B used a cranial incision.
Contralateral limbs were utilized as paired controls. Tibiae were mounted to a biomaterial
testing machine and the medial crural fascia loaded at 10 mm/min.
Results Mean peak load to failure for Group A: 201.0N, Group B: 261.0N, Group C: 306.1N and
Intact limbs: 799.5N. Between repair groups, there was no significant difference between
peak loads to failure identified. Significant differences were identified between
all repairs and intact limbs. All repairs approached a mean of 33.5% (267.8N) of intact
medial crural fascia strength.
Clinical Significance All repair techniques met no more than 1/3 intact medial crural fascia strength.
Further research is required to continue to evaluate the most clinically appropriate
technique to repair the medial tibial crural fascia.
Keywords
repair - crural fascia - biomechanical comparison - tibial tuberosity advancement
- canine
