Abstract
Rotator cuff repair surgeries fail frequently, with 20 to 94% of the 600,000 repairs performed annually in the United States resulting in retearing of the rotator cuff. The most common cause of failure is sutures tearing through tendons at grasping points. To address this issue, we drew inspiration from the specialized teeth of snakes of the Pythonoidea superfamily, which grasp soft tissues without tearing. To apply this nondamaging gripping approach to the surgical repair of tendon, we developed and optimized a python tooth–inspired device as an adjunct to current rotator cuff suture repair and found that it nearly doubled repair strength. Integrated simulations, 3D printing, and ex vivo experiments revealed a relationship between tooth shape and grasping mechanics, enabling optimization of the clinically relevant device that substantially enhances rotator cuff repair by distributing stresses over the attachment footprint. This approach suggests an alternative to traditional suturing paradigms and may reduce the risk of tendon retearing after rotator cuff repair.
Recommended Citation
I. Kurtaliaj and E. D. Hoppe and Y. Huang and D. Ju and J. A. Sandler and D. Yoon and L. J. Smith and S. T. Betancur and L. Effiong and T. Gardner and L. Tedesco and S. Desai and V. Birman and W. N. Levine, "Python Tooth–inspired Fixation Device for Enhanced Rotator Cuff Repair," Science Advances, vol. 10, no. 26, article no. eadl5270, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Jun 2024.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adl5270
Department(s)
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Publication Status
Open Access
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
2375-2548
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2025 The Authors, All rights reserved.
Creative Commons Licensing
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Publication Date
28 Jun 2024
PubMed ID
38941456
Comments
National Institutes of Health, Grant R01 AR077793