This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Purpose The purpose of this study was to compare the biomechanical properties of an all-suture anchor to a conventional anchor used commonly in rotator cuff repairs. Furthermore, the biomechanical influence of various implantation angles was evaluated in both anchor types in a human cadaveric model. Methods 30 humeri were allocated into three groups with a similar bone density. The two different anchor types were inserted at a predefined angle of 45o, 90o or 110o. Biomechanical testing included an initial preload of 20N followed by a cyclic protocol with a stepwise increasing force of 0,05N for each cycle at a rate of 1Hz until system failure. Number of cycles, maximum load to failure, stiffness, displacement and failure mode were determined. Results 27 anchors failed by pullout. There was no significant difference between the conventional and the all-suture anchor regarding mean pullout strength. No considerable discrepancy in stiffness or displacement could be perceived. Comparing the three implantation angles no significant difference could be observed for the all-suture or the conventional anchor. Conclusion All-suture anchors show similar biomechanical properties to conventional screw shaped anchors in an unlimited cyclic model. The exact insertion angle is not a significant predictor of failure.
