New concepts in the surgical treatment of actual and impending pathological fractures in metastatic disease.

INTRODUCTION: Long bone metastases are a disease of high social importance. The goals of surgical treatment are to relieve pain, maintain or restore joint function, and prevent or treat pathological fractures. "Oligometastases" is a disease with a limited number (3-5) of metastatic lesions in the same body district, where an aggressive treatment can be carried out with "curative" intent. This study aimed to evaluate patients with bone metastases surgically treated to determine how surgical treatment can influence prognosis and quality of life, comparing solitary metastasis, oligometastases, and multiple metastases. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective analysis of 130 patients with long bone metastases surgically treated between October 2015 and August 2019: 40 patients had solitary metastasis; 38 had less than three metastases (oligometastases), and 52 had multiple metastases. Surgery was resection and reconstruction with a cemented prosthesis (95) or nailing (35). RESULTS: Overall survival was significantly better in patients with solitary metastasis or oligometastases than in those with multiple metastases (p <0.0001). Patients treated with resection and prosthesis had significantly better survival than those treated with nailing (p <0.0001). Implant complications requiring surgical revision occurred in 20 patients treated with prostheses, while no complications occurred in patients treated with nailing. DISCUSSION: Survival of cancer patients has improved in the last two decades, leading to an increase of diagnosed metastases. Patients with oligometastases have a survival similar to those with a single metastasis. Optimal implants survival curves should stay above the curves of patients survival. CONCLUSIONS: Since there are no differences in survival, patients with oligometastases should be treated as patients with a solitary lesion, with more aggressive surgery (wide resection and reconstruction with prosthesis). Intramedullary nailing is still indicated in metaphyseal or diaphyseal metastases in patients with advanced disease or poor prognosis when the life expectancy does not overcome the expected survival of the nail, avoiding the need for further surgery.

Reverse shoulder arthroplasty for treatment of proximal humerus complex fractures in elderly: A single institution experience.

INTRODUCTION: Treatment of complex proximal humerus fractures (PHFs) in the elderly should provide early mobilization to maintain autonomy and self-care possibility, avoiding further surgery for complications. Nowadays, there is not a gold standard for treatment. Aim of our study was to review our experience with the use of Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty (RTSA) for the treatment of these fractures in the elderly, evaluating complications and functional results. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety-one patients older than 65 were treated with RTSA at our Institute between June 2005 and December 2017: there were 14 males and 77 females, with a mean age of 76 years (range 65-87 years). There were 58 fractures (20 Neer 3, 38 Neer 4) and 33 fracture-dislocations (7 Neer 3, 26 Neer 4). Complications were recorded, and functional outcomes were evaluated using the DASH score and Constant score (CS). RESULTS: Twenty-three complications occurred: 8 cases of scapular notching, 5 neurologic palsies, 4 dislocations, 3 intraoperative diaphyseal fractures, and subclavian artery damage, deep infection, and radiolucent line in one each. No aseptic loosening or breakage was observed. Further surgeries were necessary in 3 cases only, whereas all patients retained their implant at last follow-up. Functional results were satisfactory: mean abduction was 93°, mean flexion was 110°, mean active internal-rotation reached 35°, mean active external-rotation was 25°, mean CS was 54 points and mean DASH score was 45 points. DISCUSSION: Surgical treatment of complex PHFs should be a "one-shot surgery," especially in the elderly, since further surgeries could compromise patient outcomes and survival. Additional surgery due to complications is less frequent after RTSA than other techniques. A stable reconstruction permitting early mobilization is fundamental in the elderly. Usually, a prolonged immobilization is recommended after ORIF, TSA, and hemiarthroplasty to provide a stable fixation, whereas RTSA allows early mobilization. CONCLUSIONS: In elderly with inadequate bone stock and needing early recovery of autonomy in daily activities, RTSA effectively treats complex PHFs. The incidence of complications requiring revision surgery is low and functional results are satisfactory and predictable.

Failed Latarjet procedure: a systematic review of surgery revision options.

BACKGROUND: Revision surgery after the Latarjet procedure is a rare and challenging surgical problem, and various bony or capsular procedures have been proposed. This systematic review examines clinical and radiographic outcomes of different procedures for treating persistent pain or recurrent instability after a Latarjet procedure. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was performed using the Medline, Cochrane, EMBASE, Google Scholar and Ovid databases with the combined keywords "failed", "failure", "revision", "Latarjet", "shoulder stabilization" and "shoulder instability" to identify articles published in English that deal with failed Latarjet procedures. RESULTS: A total of 11 studies (five retrospective and six case series investigations), all published between 2008 and 2020, fulfilled our inclusion criteria. For the study, 253 patients (254 shoulders, 79.8% male) with a mean age of 29.6 years (range: 16-54 years) were reviewed at an average follow-up of 51.5 months (range: 24-208 months). CONCLUSIONS: Eden-Hybinette and arthroscopic capsuloplasty are the most popular and safe procedures to treat recurrent instability after a failed Latarjet procedure, and yield reasonable clinical outcomes. A bone graft procedure and capsuloplasty were proposed but there was no clear consensus on their efficacy and indication. Level of evidence Level IV Trial registration PROSPERO 2020 CRD42020185090- www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/.

Severe Open Dislocation of the Hip with Exposed Femoral Head: A Case Report.

CASE: A 54-year-old woman was brought to our emergency department with an inferomedial open hip dislocation without fracture secondary to a railway trauma. We performed hip reduction, wound debridement, and stabilization with external fixation. After 7 months, hip arthroplasty was performed for severe hip instability and avascular necrosis of the femoral head. CONCLUSION: Open hip dislocation is an uncommon injury that is caused by high-energy trauma. It may be associated with serious management problems and complications, including infection and avascular necrosis of the femoral head.

What Is the Survival and Function of Modular Reverse Total Shoulder Prostheses in Patients Undergoing Tumor Resections in Whom an Innervated Deltoid Muscle Can Be Preserved?

BACKGROUND: After proximal humerus resection for bone tumors, restoring anatomy and shoulder function remains demanding because muscles and bone are removed to obtain tumor-free surgical margins. Current modes of reconstruction such as anatomic modular prostheses, osteoarticular allografts, or allograft-prosthetic composites and arthrodeses are associated with relatively poor shoulder function related to loss of the deltoid and rotator cuff muscles. Newer prosthetic designs like the reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) are felt to be useful in other reconstructions where rotator cuff function is compromised, so it seemed logical that it might help in tumor reconstructions as well in patients where the deltoid muscle and its innervation can be preserved. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: In patients with a tumor of the proximal humerus that can be resected with preservation of the deltoid muscle, (1) What complications are associated with tumor resection and reconstruction with a modular RTSA? (2) What are the functional results of modular RTSA in these patients? METHODS: From January 2011 to January 2018, we treated 52 patients for bone tumors of the proximal humerus. Of these, three patients were treated with forequarter amputation, 14 were treated with standard modular proximal humerus implants, seven were treated with allograft-prosthetic composites (RTSA-APC), and 28 were treated with a modular RTSA. Generally, we used anatomic modular prosthetic reconstruction if during the tumor resection none of the abductor mechanism could be spared. Conversely, we preferred reconstruction with RTSA if an innervated deltoid muscle could be spared, but the rotator cuff and capsule could not, using RTSA-APC or modular RTSA if humeral osteotomy was distal or proximal to deltoid insertion, respectively. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed only patients treated with modular RTSA after proximal humerus resection. We excluded three patients treated with modular RTSA as revision procedures after mechanical failure of previous biological reconstructions and three patients treated after December 2016 to obtain an expected minimum follow-up of 2 years. There were nine men and 13 women, with a mean (range) age of 55 years (18 to 71). Reconstruction was performed in all patients using silver-coated modular RTSA protheses. Patients were clinically checked according to oncologic protocol. Complications and function were evaluated at final follow-up by the treating surgeon (PR) and shoulder surgeon (AC). Complications were evaluated according to Henderson classification. Functional results were assessed with the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society score (range 0 points to 30 points), Constant-Murley score (range 0 to 100), and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score (range 0 to 100). The statistical analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier curves. RESULTS: Complications occurred in five of 22 patients; there was a shoulder dislocation (Type I) in four patients and aseptic loosening (Type II) in one. Function in these patients on the outcomes scales we used was generally satisfactory; the mean Musculoskeletal Tumor Society score was 29, the mean Constant score was 61, and the mean American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score was 81. CONCLUSIONS: Although this was a small series of patients with heterogeneous diagnoses and resection types, and we were not able to directly compare the results of this procedure with those of other available reconstructions, we found patients treated with RTSA achieved reasonable shoulder function after resection and reconstruction of a proximal humerus tumor. It may not be valuable in all tumor resections, but in patients in whom the deltoid can be partly spared, this procedure appears to reasonably restore short-term shoulder function. However, future larger studies with longer follow-up are needed to confirm these findings. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV, therapeutic study.

The treatment of acute Rockwood type III acromio-clavicular joint dislocations by two different surgical techniques.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK: the treatment of acute type III acromio-clavicular Rockwood dislocations is still a matter of discussion in orthopaedic surgery. The purpose of this study, retrospective and comparative, is to evaluate the long-term results of two different surgical techniques of temporary stabilization using K-wires with and without tension band wiring. METHODS: one hundred patients, treated from January 2007 and November 2010, were subdivided into two groups according to the surgical method used. They were clinically and radiographically assessed, and the results were compared with those present in the literature. RESULTS: the patients were clinically and radiologically evaluated with a mean follow-up of 44.7 months (range 25-60 months). According to the Constant Score, the positive results were 87.4% in group A and 90.2% in group B, without significant statistical difference (p>0.05). However, there were numerous complications, especially metal-work mobilization. CONCLUSIONS: the results that we have obtained, in part disappointing on the short-term, but positive overall and in line with the literature at long-term follow-up, do not clarify which of the two techniques is superior.

The paratendineous tissues: an anatomical study of their role in the pathogenesis of tendinopathy.

The aim of this paper was to examine the macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of the paratendineous tissues (paratenon, epitenon and endotenon) of the calcaneal tendon to better understand their role in the pathogenesis of "tendinopathy". Ten non-embalmed legs from cadavers were used. Histological and immunohistochemical studies were done at the middle third of the tendon. Magnetic resonance images of the hind foot were made in 60 living subjects to analyze the morphological alterations of tendon and paratenon. The paratenon is a thick fibrous layer with few elastic fibers, continuous with the crural fascia, well vascularized and innervated. It forms a sheath around the tendon similar to a synovial layer, but less organized. Indeed, it has no complete epithelium, but only some cells producing hyaluronan, called fasciacytes. Crural fascia and paratenon can be clearly observed by MRI, appearing as homogeneous, low signal intensity bands, sharply defined in the context of subcutaneous tissue in T1-weighted sequences. The mean thickness of the crural fascia was 1.11 mm in healthy subjects and 1.30 mm in patients (p < 0.005). The mean value of paratenon thickness in patients was 1.34 mm, 0.85 in healthy (p < 0.0001). The paratenon is more highly vascularized and innervated than the tendon, supporting the hypothesis that it is the origin of pain in tendinopathy. The imaging study suggests that, an increase in the thickness of the paratenon more than 1.35 mm is predictive of paratendinopathy, even before tendon damage.