The double-twist knot: a new arthroscopic sliding knot.

Abstract

A safe and easy-to-tie sliding knot is necessary for arthroscopic repair of rotator cuff tears and glenoid labrum lesions. We describe the double-twist knot (DTK) technique, having tested the knot's tensile strength and compared it with other commonly used arthroscopic knots. The DTK is a modified Lark's head knot that can be tied only on a double suture. A No. 2 braided polyester suture was used to test the DKT against the Tennessee slider knot and Snyder's knot by means of a material testing system. Results showed a statistically significant (P <.001) higher tensile strength with the DTK than with the other 2 knots. The rationale for using a stitch with a double suture is to double the tensile strength while using the same number of surgical steps and operating time as with single-suture stitches.