Scaphotrapeziotrapezoidal Joint Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review of Surgical Treatment.

BACKGROUND: The management of scaphotrapeziotrapezoidal (STT) joint osteoarthritis (OA) remains controversial. This systematic review aims to review the evidence for surgical interventions specific to STT OA. METHODS: Medline and Embase libraries were searched using a pre-defined search strategy in October 2014. All study designs and languages were included and evaluated by two reviewers (VMD and LM) against the inclusion/exclusion criteria. The study eligibility criteria included papers discussing surgical treatment of STT OA, and the review was conducted using the PRISMA guidelines. RESULTS: 295 unique results were identified from the search strategy after duplicates were filtered. 21 articles met the eligibility criteria. CONCLUSIONS: Trapezial excision and partial trapezoidal excision is an effective treatment with low morbidity and complications, although can lead to weakness of the thumb. Distal scaphoid excision remains an effective pain relief treatment with improved grip and pinch strengths post-operatively. The procedure is technically less demanding than arthrodesis, does not carry the risks of non-union and complication rate of STT joint arthrodesis, and has a shorter immobilisation requirement. It produces reliable results, but is contraindicated if there is either scapholunocapitate pathology or midcarpal instability. STT joint fusion has a place, typically producing 75% range of movement of the non-operated wrist. However it has a higher associated complication rate, and simultaneous radial styloidectomy is recommended to reduce ongoing pain from impingement. Implant arthroplasty using a graphite-coated pyrocarbon implant has been used more recently. The patients gained significant pain relief, although there have been reports of implant dislocation secondary to surgical errors. A reduction in post-operative wrist extension and radial deviation has been noted. From this systematic review, we have composed a treatment algorithm for the surgical management of STT joint OA.

A prospective series of patients with chronic Achilles tendinopathy treated with autologous-conditioned plasma injections combined with exercise and therapeutic ultrasonography.

Chronic Achilles tendinopathy is a difficult problem to manage, because it can result in significant patient morbidity. We conducted a prospective case series involving 26 patients (2 bilateral cases) with painful and ultrasound-confirmed Achilles tendinopathy for a minimum duration of 6 months. Our objective was to assess whether this condition can be effectively treated with a treatment protocol combining an intratendinous autologous-conditioned plasma injection followed by a standardized rehabilitation protocol. The rehabilitation protocol consisted of full weightbearing in a pneumatic cast boot for 6 weeks, therapeutic ultrasound treatment, and an eccentric exercise program. Our results showed statistically significant improvements in terms of pain (p < .0001), other symptoms (p = .0003), activities of daily living (p = .0002), sports activities (p = .0001), and quality of life (p = .0002). We believe that the use of autologous-conditioned plasma can provide a potential treatment solution for chronic Achilles tendinopathy.

Femoral neck narrowing following hip resurfacing using posterior and Ganz approaches at two years.

We report a retrospective review of femoral head/neck ratios on post-operative and two year follow-up radiographs following hip resurfacing arthroplasty. The patients were in two matched groups, having had surgery through a posterior approach or via a Ganz trochanteric flip. There was no significant difference in femoral neck narrowing at follow up between the two surgical approaches. However, we found significant narrowing of the femoral neck in both groups by the time of the two year follow-up radiograph.