Background

While the 1980s saw a growing enthusiasm for synthetic material ligament reconstruction, by the 1990s the popularity of artificial implants had declined due to high failure rates. The ligaments of the first generation were extremely brittle, ruptured early, shed lubricants or were not resistant to abrasions causing synovitis. Though newer synthetic ligaments of the second generation were a marked improvement over the previous generation of synthetic ligaments, they also caused early failures and had a lack of tissue in-growth and low resistance to abrasion and fraying.

The LARS Ligament Augmentation & Reconstruction System (manufactured by LARS, Surgical Implants and Devices, Arc-sur-Tille, France) represents a third generation synthetic ligament. Incorporating a design which takes into account the causes of earlier synthetic ligament failures, LARS has been developed with a more accurate understanding of the functional anatomy of joints, muscle-tendon units and ligaments. Combined with advanced surgical techniques, medical technologies and materials, this new generation of synthetic ligaments have been used successfully for more than 19 years in a wide variety of patients, from elite athletes to the general population.

Constructed of polyethylene terephthalate (a special form of PET), LARS is specially designed to mimic the normal anatomic ligament fibres. While the intra-articular longitudinal free fibres resist fatigue and torsion and allow fibroblastic in-growth, the extra-articular woven fibres provide strength and resistance to elongation. 

Important: LARS is not available or cleared for distribution in all international markets. For more details, please contact your local subsidiary or distributor by visiting the Corin worldwide section of the Corin Group corporate website.