Delivering growth factors to the site of injury using a coated suture delivery method has been investigated recently as a means to augment tissue repair [1]. This is a practical approach for growth factor delivery, as sutures are the method of choice for most orthopaedic surgeons for soft tissue repairs. One advantage of growth factor-coated sutures in tendon repair is the potential to accelerate healing in vivo, thereby improving the outcome of the repair. In particular, platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) is a well characterized wound healing protein known to be chemotactic and mitogenic for cells of mesenchymal origin, including tenocytes, and has been shown to improve healing when applied to animal models of tendon injury [2,3]. The aim of this study was to compare the quality of the tendon repair at four weeks post treatment with sutures coated with varying concentrations of rhPDGF-BB, relative to buffer-coated suture repairs.

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