Tendon grafts: their natural history, biology and future development.

R Wong, Nasra Alam, AD McGrouther, Jason Wong

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The use of tendon grafts has diminished as regimes of primary repairs and rehabilitation have improved, but they remain important in secondary reconstruction. Relatively little is known about the cellular biology of grafts, and the general perception is that they have little biological activity. The reality is that there is a wealth of cellular and molecular changes occurring with the process of engraftment that affect the quality of the repair. This review highlights the historical perspectives and modern concepts of graft take, reviews the different attachment techniques and revisits the biology of pseudosheath formation. In addition, we discuss some of the future directions in tendon reconstruction by grafting, which include surface modification, vascularized tendon transfer, allografts, biomaterials and cell-based therapies.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)669-681
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Hand Surgery (European Volume)
Volume40
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2015

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