Pseudoaneurysm of Anterior Tibial Artery after Ankle Arthroscopy / 대한족부족관절학회지

Pseudoaneurysm is extremely rare complication after ankle arthroscopy with standard anteromedial and anterolateral portals. We report a case of a pseudoaneurysm of the anterior tibial artery detected at 3 months after ankle arthroscopy in a 16-year-old male. He had sustained painful swelling of his right ankle after the arthroscopic surgery, and referred to our hospital with an MRI checked postoperatively. We failed to make the diagnosis of pseudoaneurysm with the postoperative MRI, thus the patient underwent another arthroscopy which revealed massive hemarthrosis within the joint. The diagnosis was confirmed with an angiography, and the vascular lesion was ligated.

The Analysis of Risk Factors in No Thumb Test in Total Knee Arthroplasty

BACKGROUND: We would like to analyze the risk factors of no thumb test among knee alignment tests during total knee arthroplasty surgery. METHODS: The 156 cases of total knee arthroplasty by an operator from October 2009 to April 2010 were analyzed according to preoperative indicators including body weight, height, degree of varus deformity, and patella subluxation and surgical indicators such as pre-osteotomy patella thickness, degree of patella degeneration, no thumb test which was evaluated after medial prepatella incision and before bone resection (1st test), no thumb test which was evaluated with corrective valgus stress (2nd test, J test), and the kind of prosthesis. We comparatively analyzed indicators affecting no thumb test (3rd test). RESULTS: There was no relation between age, sex, and body weight and no thumb test (3rd test). Patellar sulcus angle (p = 0.795), patellar congruence angle (p = 0.276) and preoperative mechanical axis showed no relationship. The 1st no thumb test (p = 0.007) and 2nd test (p = 0.002) showed significant relation with the 3rd no thumb test. Among surgical indicators, pre-osteotomy patella thickness (p = 0.275) and degeneration of patella (p = 0.320) were not relevant but post-osteotomy patellar thickness (p = 0.002) was relevant to no thumb test (3rd test). According to prosthesis, there was no significance with Nexgen (p = 0.575). However, there was significant correlation between Scorpio (p = 0.011), Vanguard (p = 0.049) and no thumb test (3rd test). Especially, Scorpio had a tendency to dislocate the patella, but Vanguard to stabilize the patella. CONCLUSIONS: No thumb test (3rd test) is correlated positively with 1st test, 2nd test, and post-osteotomy patella thickness. Therefore, the more patella osteotomy and the prosthesis with high affinity to patellofemoral alignment would be required for correct patella alignment.

Treatment for Periprosthetic Supracondylar Femur Fractures Following Total Knee Arthroplasty -Comparative Study of Retrograde Intramedullary Nailing and Locking Compression Plate Fixation-

PURPOSE: The purpose of this research is to compare the clinical and radiological results of retrograde intramedullary nailing and locking compression plate fixation. Both of these are surgical procedures for the treatment of periprosthetic supracondylar femur fractures that occur subsequent to total knee arthroplasty. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The subject population consisted of 23 cases: there were 10 cases that underwent retrograde intramedullary nailing fixation (group 1) and 13 cases that underwent use of a locking compression plate (group 2), and in both groups supracondylar femur fracture subsequent to total knee replacement occurred during the period between January 2004 and December 2008. The range of joint motion, the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) knee score, the tibio-femoral angle and the time to achieve bone union in each group were comparatively analyzed. RESULTS: The mean range of the knee joint motion decreased from 124.5degrees to 116.2degrees in group 1, and from 118.2degrees to 110.1degrees in group 2. The mean HSS knee score declined from 84.4 points to 75.8 points in group 1, and from 82.3 points to 79.0 points in group 2. The mean tibio-femoral angle changed from 6.3degrees eversion to 5.8degrees in group 1, and from 6.1degrees to 7.2degrees in group 2. The mean time to achieving bone union was 2.7 months in group 1 and 3 months in group 2. CONCLUSION: Both retrograde intramedullary nailing and locking compression plate fixation, as surgical procedures for the treatment of periprosthetic supracondylar femur fractures that occur subsequent to total knee replacement, allow solid fixation and early resumption of joint movement without any statistically significant differences between the two procedures. So, both procedures appear to be good methods of treatment.

The 'beta-wire Technique' for the Fixation of Ulnar Styloid Process Fracture: Surgical Technique

For the fixation of ulnar styloid process fracture, we want to introduce the 'beta-wire technique', which is easy to learn and practice and thought to give a compressive force to the fracture site.

Lower-Pressure Percutaneous Vertebroplasty Using Larger-Diameter Bone-Cement Fillers

STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective, case-controlled study. OBJECTIVE: We wanted to evaluate the efficacy of lower-pressure percutaneous vertebroplasty (LP-PVP) using larger-diameter cement fillers for treating osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (VCF). SUMMARY OF THE LITERATURE REVIEW: Despite the popularity of conventional PVP(C-PVP), critical complications associated with cement leakage have been widely reported due to the inadequate viscosity of flabby cement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: With excluding Kummell's disease, 23 VCF's were treated with LP-PVP using 2.8mm-diameter cement fillers, 51 VCF's were treated with kyphoplasty(KP) using the same size of cement fillers and 19 VCF's were treated with C-PVP using 1.4mm-diameter biopsy needles. The clinical and radiographic results along with the complications were investigated for more than one year. RESULTS: The visual analogue scale (VAS) was improved in all the groups. The infused cement volume was 5.9+/-1.6ml for the LP-PVP, 5.9+/-1.9ml for the KP and 3.5+/-1.0ml for the C-PVP (p=0.000). The collapsed vertebral height was restored by 10.8+/-10.3%, 13.0+/-12.7% and 4.7+/-7.6%, respectively, in each group (p=0.000) with a reduction loss of 2.1+/-1.8%, 1.1+/-1.4% and 5.9+/-4.2%. respectively, in each group (p=0.000) at follow-up. These was a reduction of the vertebral kyphotic angle by 3.0+/-4.0degrees, 3.7+/-4.4degrees and 4.2+/-4.4degrees, respectively, in each group (p=0.528) with reduction loss of 1.0+/-0.9degrees, 0.1+/-1.7degrees and 3.5+/-2.8degrees, respectively, in each group (p=0.000). There was a reduction of the regional Cobb's angle by 4.3+/-2.6degrees, 3.1+/-4.7degrees and 2.9+/-3.8degrees, respectively, in each group (p=0.184) with a reduction loss of 3.6+/-4.5degrees, 0.1+/-1.5degrees and 1.0+/-4.1degrees, respectively, in each group (p=0.000). Extravasation of cement was noticed in 6 cases (26.1%) of LP-PVP, in 14 cases (27.5%) of KP and 4 cases (26.1%) of C-PVP (p=0.689). No cases of additional VCF happened for the LP-PVP, eight cases of additional VCF happened (15.7%) for the KP and one case of additional VCF happened (5.3%) for the C-PVP (p=0.030). CONCLUSION: The LP-PVP showed clinically and radiologically results that were similar to those of KP with a higher amount of infused cement volume compared to that of C-PVP. LP-PVP is thought to be effective for the clinical and radiolographic aspects and to have fewer complications for the treatment of osteoporotic VCF.

Precautions Against Infection Following Posterior Spinal Fusion Based on Types of Infection and Risk Factors / 대한척추외과학회지

STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective preparative study and prospective study OBJECTIVE: We instituted and verified the precautions against postoperative spinal infection. SUMMARY OF THE LITERATURE REVIEW: Postoperative infection comes from contamination during the operation and various strategies have been recommended to prevent it. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 583 cases that underwent instrumented posterior spinal fusion during two years (group I), were reviewed to discover the risk factors, and intraoperative cultures were done to detect the contamination routes and the causative microorganisms for the next 4 months. Six precautions, based on the results, were instituted. We analyzed 354 cases that underwent operation in the following year (group II) using the precautions. RESULTS: Twenty cases (3.4%) were infected in group I and the types of infection were superficial wound infection (4 cases), deep wound infection (4 cases), osteomyelitis around the interbody space (7 cases), osteomyelitis around the pedicle screws (4 cases) and a combination of wound infection and osteomyelitis around the pedicle screws (1 case). Infections happened more frequently in the cases of interbody fusion (p=0.034), revision (p=0.087) and those done in the summer season (p=0.025). S. epidermidis, as the causative bacteria, was cultured from both the operation environments and wounds. Six precautions based on the preliminary results were instituted as follows; irrigation method reformation, delayed opening of instruments, turning-off local air conditioners, changing of gowns before instrumentation, local bone irrigation and limited indications for interbody fusion. After implementation, two cases (0.6%) of infection developed in group II (p=0.002, odds ratio=0.160; 95% confidence interval = 0.037 to 0.688). CONCLUSION: Wounds, grafted bones or instruments can be contaminated under longer-time exposure to operating room air and so produce interbody or pedicle osteomyelitis without wound infection. The precautions were effective to decrease the postoperative infection rates following posterior spinal fusion.

Spinal Cord Injury Caused by Bone Cement after Percutaneous Vertebroplasty : One Case of Long-term Follow-up and the Result of Delayed Removal / 대한정형외과학회잡지

Among the complications of percutaneous vertebroplasty, bone cement leakage into the spinal canal doesn't happen very often, but this could provoke a severe neurologic deficit. It is not certain whether this neurologic deficit may be permanent or reversible. Yet if the bone cement is left in the spinal canal, trivial events such as minor trauma could worsen the neurologic symptoms. The authors treated a 75-year-old female patient with Nurick's grade IV neurologic deficit, which was due to cement leakage into the spinal canal after previous vertebroplasty of T8 and T9. She had been having a neurologic deficit for 9 years, and it became aggravated after a minor trauma to Nurick's grade V. After the cement in the spinal canal was removed, her neurologic symptoms were improved to Nurick's grade II. Leaving a cement mass in the spinal canal may be a risk factor for additional neurologic injury even when suffering only a minor trauma, and the neurologic symptoms can be improved after removal of the cement, even for the case with a long-term neurological defect.

Efficacy of High Intensity Laser Therapy in the Mild Osteoarthritis of the Knee: A Randomized Double-blind Controlled Trial / 대한정형외과연구학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to know the effect of high intensive laser therapy in patients with early stage of osteoarthritis of knee. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was a randomized, double blind controlled trial. 28 patients who had grade II osteoarthritis of Kellgren classification and knee pain were randomly divided into two groups. Patients underwent treatment 30 times, 5 times per week. the clinical evaluation was done by the pain, stiffness and functional score of the knee by the knee society clinical rating system, and the intensity of pain was measured also by a VAS (visual analogue scale), before and after the 1st sessions, Before and after the 2nd sessions and at 6 month after the 1st treatment. We checked hs-CRP and HA which was regarded as indexes of osteoarthritis activitiy. RESULTS: As a clinical result of high intensive laser therapy, VAS, pain and functional score were statistically more improved than those of before therapy, except stiffness (P<0.05). The results of the hs-CRP and HA which were not significantly different from those of before therapy. In the placebo group, all variables showed no difference. CONCLUSION: We concluded that Nd-YAG high intensive laser therapy in early stage of patient with osteoarthritis of knee would be helpful as noninvasive and conservative treatment for improvement clinical progress.