Bioresorbable Suture Anchor Clips for Soft Tissue Wound Repair.

Abstract

Mesh suture is an emerging technology for closing high-tension soft tissue wounds. However, bulky mesh surgical knots can irritate surrounding tissue and harbor bacteria, leading to an increased risk of infection and palpability. Thus, a degradable knotless anchoring system is needed to secure mesh sutures. Here, novel anchor clip devices are fabricated <i>via</i> continuous liquid interface production (CLIP) three-dimensional (3D) printing using poly(propylene fumarate-<i>co</i>-propylene succinate) (PPFPS) oligomers. Thiol-ene cross-linking yields fully degradable thermoset devices with tunable mechanical properties. For comparison, high-resolution anchor clips are also fabricated <i>via</i> traditional injection molding using poly(l-lactide-<i>co</i>-glycolide) (PLGA). The PLGA anchor clips show similar mechanical performance to predicate soft tissue fixation techniques in a benchtop abdominal wall reconstruction model. Both PLGA and PPFPS anchor clips demonstrate satisfactory <i>in vivo</i> biocompatibility in a porcine abdominal implantation model. This work outlines the development of bioresorbable anchor clips for soft tissue fixation and illustrates their potential for clinical translation.