Stenting of "unprotected" left main coronary artery stenoses: early and late results

The effect of bone plug length and Kurosaka screw (DePuy, Warsaw, IN) diameter on graft holding strength of the bone-tendon-bone construct was determined. Random length porcine bone plugs were assigned to fixation with 7 or 9 mm Kurosaka screws. Peak load to failure was determined. There was a significant decrease in peak load to failure of the 5-mm long bone plugs compared with longer bone plugs. No difference was found between longer lengths of bone plug in either the 7- or 9-mm screw diameter groups. The 9-mm diameter screws significantly increased peak load to failure for both 1- and 2-cm bone plug lengths.