Inducement of tissue regeneration of harvested hamstring tendons in a rabbit model.

ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to determine if the use of fascia lataas a tendonregeneration guide (placed into the tendoncanal following harvesting the semitendinosus tendon) would improve the incidence of tissue regeneration and prevent fatty degeneration of the semitendinosus muscle.Materials and MethodsBilateral semitendinosus tendonswere harvested from rabbits using a tendonstripper. On the inducing graft (IG) side, the tendoncanal and semitendinosus tibial attachment site were connected by the fascia lata, which was harvested at the same width as the semitendinosus tendon. On the control side, no special procedures were performed. Two groups of six rabbits were killed at post-operative weeks 4 and 8, respectively. In addition, three healthy rabbits were killed to obtain normal tissue. We evaluated the incidence of tendontissue regeneration, cross-sectional area of the regenerated tendontissue and proportion of fatty tissue in the semitendinosus muscle.ResultsAt post-operative week...