Thermal-assisted capsular modification for functional ankle instability.

Chronic symptoms following lateral ankle sprain occasionally requires surgical intervention. Many options are available including thermal assisted capsular modification. The authors review the history of thermal modification of tissues, the indication for use in the ankle and report their experience with a consecutive case series over a one year period.

Talar neck fractures.

Clinical management of talar neck fractures is complex and fraught with complications. As Gaius Julius Caesar stated: "The die is cast"; often the outcome of a talar neck fracture is determined at the time of injury. The authors believe, however, that better results can be achieved by following some simple guidelines. The authors advocate prompt and precise anatomic surgical reduction, preferring the medial approach with secondary anterolateral approach. Preservation of blood supply can be achieved by a thorough understanding of vascular pathways and efforts to stay within appropriate surgical intervals. The authors advocate bone grafting of medial neck comminution (if present) to prevent varus malalignment and rigid internal fixation to allow for joint mobilization postoperatively. These guidelines may seem simple, but when dealing with the complexity of talar neck fractures, the foot and ankle surgeon needs to focus and rely on easily grasped concepts to reduce poor outcomes.

The USS pedicle hook system: a morphometric analysis of its safety in the thoracic spine. Universal Spine System.

The Universal Spine System (USS) pedicle hook design includes a fixation screw that passes obliquely in the anterocranial direction in the pedicle. The addition of the fixation screw was to address concerns with rotation of the hook and hook disengagement. This study was designed to evaluate the safety of the USS screw locked pedicle hook. Eleven cadaveric thoracic spines were instrumented posteriorly with USS pedicle hooks from T1 to T12. Spinal instrumentation was performed by a spinal surgeon experienced with the USS system. Spinal deformity was created prior to instrumentation, ranging from 0 to 55 degrees in the horizontal plane (rotation) and from 0 to 50 degrees in the frontal plane (scoliosis). Radiographs, computed tomography (CT), and segmental dissection were used for data acquisition. Morphometric CT analysis before instrumentation demonstrated that the transverse pedicular diameter was the smallest at T5 with a mean of 3.7 mm. The transverse pedicular angle (TPA) was found to always point toward the midline. The largest TPA was observed at T1 with a mean TPA of 28.4 degrees. The pedicle with the least angular deviation from the midline was T11 with a mean TPA of 7 degrees. Postinstrumentation CT analysis and segmental dissection revealed perforations of the pedicle cortex by the fixation screw in 15% of instrumented pedicles (26/172). There were 6 medial and 20 lateral perforations. Medial perforations occurred exclusively in the three most proximal spinal segments, whereas the lateral perforations occurred throughout the thoracic spine. The mean encroachment of the fixation screw was 1.67 mm medially and 1.95 mm laterally. This study demonstrates the variation in caliber and direction of the thoracic pedicles. Medial and lateral perforations of the pedicle can occur with the USS pedicle hook instrumented system.

Treatment of unstable osteochondritis dissecans lesions of the knee using autogenous osteochondral grafts (mosaicplasty).

Symptomatic osteochondritis dissecans lesions with minimal fragmentation that may be replaced within their crater have classically been treated by reattachment. The choice for internal fixation is varied. This article reports on the treatment of unstable osteochondritis dissecans lesions using autogenous osteochondral plugs as a means of biological internal fixation. The appearance on magnetic resonance imaging of osteochondral plugs at 6 and 9 months after transplantation is also presented.

The anterior horn of the medical meniscus. An anatomic study of its insertion.

A morphologic study of 48 cadaveric knees was performed to more accurately define the osseous and soft tissue anatomy of the insertion of the anterior horn of the medial meniscus. Soft tissue relationships of the anterior horn of the medial meniscus to the anterior cruciate ligament and the lateral meniscus were examined. Four tibial insertion locations of the medial meniscus were identifiable by bony landmarks. Type I insertions were located in the flat intercondylar region of the tibial plateau; type II occurred on the downward slope from the medial articular plateau to the intercondylar region; type III occurred on the anterior slope of the tibial plateau; there was no firm bony insertion of the anterior horn in type IV. The occurrence for type I was 59% (20 of 34); type II, 24% (8 of 34); type III, 15% (5 of 34); and type IV, 3% (1 of 34). The variance in insertion patterns may have clinical applications for patients with atypical anterior knee pain and for performing meniscal allograft. Type III and type IV insertions may be unable to resist peripheral extrusion of the loaded meniscus, placing it at risk for anterior subluxation and causing anterior knee pain in specific cases. Awareness of these patterns may be valuable in medial meniscus harvest and transplantation.

Distal biceps brachii tendon repair. An in vitro biomechanical study of tendon reattachment.

Clinical reports suggest that suture anchors can simplify repair of distal biceps tendon avulsions. In this study, fixation strengths of Mitek and Statak suture anchors were compared with strength of reattachment using transosseous suture tunnels in eight cadaveric radii. Cyclic loading and load-to-failure testing were performed: No specimen failed during testing to 50 N for 3600 cycles: however, four of the Mitek anchors and one of the Statak anchors protruded out of the medullary canal. The mean load to failure of the Mitek suture anchor complexes was 220 +/- 54 N, that of the Statak suture anchor complexes was 187 +/- 64 N, and that of the transosseous sutures was 307 +/- 142 N. There was no significant difference in the failure load or mechanism of failure between the Statak and Mitek anchors. Transosseous sutures failed at significantly greater loads on static testing than the suture anchors. Cyclic loading results suggest that the bony fixation achieved using these three techniques should be sufficient to allow immediate passive mobilization of the elbow after surgery. Protrusion of the suture anchors out of the tuberosity during cyclic loading is a concern because of potential development of a gap at the repair site and interference with forearm rotation.