The healed ligaments in pigs looked the same under the microscope whether they had a scaffold or not.
Scientific Claim
In Yucatan minipigs, ACL repair tissue from both scaffold-augmented and suture-only groups exhibited similar cellular and vascular characteristics, indicating no enhancement from the scaffold.
Original Statement
“The tissue in both the SUTURE and SCAFFOLD repairs was highly cellular and vascular at 13 weeks. The cells had the characteristic shape of mature fibroblasts, with nuclear aspect ratios of over 2 in both groups. No inflammatory cells or acellular or avascular areas were noted in any sections, and there was no residual collagen scaffold visualized. Arterioles, venules and capillaries were found throughout the sections for all ligaments.”
Evidence Quality Assessment
Claim Status
appropriately stated
Study Design Support
Design supports claim
Appropriate Language Strength
definitive
Can make definitive causal claims
Assessment Explanation
The claim accurately summarizes the histological observations without speculation or overgeneralization.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
Collagen scaffold supplementation does not improve the functional properties of the repaired anterior cruciate ligament