A FAILURE-MECHANISM OF LEEDS-KEIO LIGAMENTS

From our experience with the Leeds-Keio artificial ligament at Bolton Hospitals we report the histology from three cases in which the new li gament was demonstrated to have failed in response to trivial injury, after an initially successful anterior cruciate replacement. The histo logy showed fragmentation of graft material associated with a chronic inflammatory response in the new ligament. A chronic inflammatory resp onse occurs as a result of fragmentation of the Dacron fibres, and onc e established, inhibits production of the neoligament, thus dooming it to failure.