Search

BACKGROUND: Rotator cuff injury is the main cause of shoulder dysfunction in adults. The rate of retear is very high in patients with rotator cuff tear treated with simple surgical suture. Biological materials can optimize the biomechanical property after rotator cuff injury.OBJECTIVE: To review the latest research and clinical application of biomaterials in the repair of rotator cuff injury. METHODS: PubMed and Web of science databases were retrieved for the latest researches on the biomaterials for repair of rotator cuff. The search terms were "rotator cuff injuries; biological materials; autograft; extracellular matrix materials; synthetic materials; biological scaffold; biological patch; augmentation". Fifty-seven articles were classified and compared to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various repair biomaterials. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Currently, the biomaterials for repair of rotator cuff injury can be divided into three categories: untreated human tissue transplantation materials, extracellular matrix materials and synthetic materials. The latest clinical reports show that untreated human tissue transplantation materials often have different clinical effects. The results of extracellular matrix materials derived from human allogenic dermal materials are still acceptable. Most scholars do not recommend the use of small intestinal submucosal grafts from pigs. The latest three-dimensional collagen scaffolds and synthetic absorbable materials have good application prospects due to their good porosity and the ability to induce the healing of tendon and bone tissues. However, most of them are still in the stage of animal experiments, and more clinical trials are needed to confirm their safety and effectiveness. There is no safe and effective biomaterial to treat rotator cuff tear. With the development of tissue engineering technology and materials science, it is expected to find a satisfactory material in the future by combining the macroscopic properties of biological scaffolds or synthetic materials with the microscopic properties of stem cells or cytokines [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]