National Basketball Association combine performance after a partial meniscectomy.

BACKGROUND: An arthroscopic meniscectomy is one of the most common orthopedic procedures in athletes. Return to play rates and deficits in muscle function have been reviewed after meniscectomy, but no study has reviewed functional performance after an isolated partial meniscectomy. HYPOTHESIS/PURPOSE: To compare the performance of elite-level basketball players after a partial meniscectomy to a control group of players with no previous reported knee injury. We believe that there is no difference between the two groups in functional performance. STUDY DESIGN: Case Series. METHODS: Functional performance results from the National Basketball Association (NBA) combine were reviewed between 2000 and 2015. Twelve out of 1092 players were found to have undergone a partial meniscectomy prior to competing in the NBA combine. The partial meniscectomy group was compared to an age-, size-, and position-matched control group with respect to functional performance testing such as the shuttle run test, lane agility test, ¾ court sprint, vertical jump (no step), and vertical jump (max). RESULTS: The meniscectomy and the control groups that there was no significant difference between the two groups in agility, quickness, sprinting, and jumping ability. However, there was a - 0.596 spearman correlation between months after surgery and agility (p = 0.041), while there was a + 0.690 and + 0.650 spearman correlation between both months after surgery and standing vertical and max vertical (p = 0.013 and p = 0.022). CONCLUSIONS: Athletes competing in the NBA combine who have undergone a partial meniscectomy perform as well as uninjured athletes in all NBA combine performance testing. Furthermore, as athletes are further out from surgery, they have an improvement in both standing and max vertical jump.

Osteochondromas of the distal aspect of the tibia or fibula. Natural history and treatment.

BACKGROUND: There is little information on the natural history or treatment of osteochondromas arising from the distal aspect of either the tibia or the fibula. It is believed that there is a risk of deformation of the ankle if these exostoses are left untreated or if the physis or neurovascular structures are injured during operative intervention. METHODS: We reviewed the records of twenty-three patients who had been treated for osteochondroma of the distal aspect of the tibia or fibula between 1980 and 1996. Four of the patients had hereditary multiple cartilaginous exostoses. There were seventeen male and six female patients, and the average age at the time of presentation was sixteen years (range, eight to forty-eight years). RESULTS: Preoperative radiographs showed evidence of plastic deformation of the fibula in eleven patients who had a large osteochondroma. Four patients elected not to have an operation. The tumor was excised in nineteen patients. Postoperatively, all nineteen patients had a Musculoskeletal Tumor Society score of 100 percent for function of the lower extremity with pain-free symmetrical and unrestricted motion of the ankle at the latest follow-up examination. Partial remodeling of the tibia and fibula gradually diminished the asymmetry of the ankles in all nineteen operatively managed patients; however, the remodeling was most complete in the younger patients. Pronation deformities of the ankle did not change after excision of the tumor. Complications of operative treatment included four recurrences (only three of which were symptomatic), one sural neuroma, one superficial wound infection, and one instance of growth arrest of the distal aspects of the tibia and fibula. CONCLUSIONS: Osteochondromas of the distal and lateral aspects of the tibia were more often symptomatic than those of the distal aspect of the fibula; they most commonly occurred in the second decade of life with ankle pain, a palpable mass, and unrestricted ankle motion. Untreated or partially excised lesions in skeletally immature patients may become larger and cause plastic deformation of the tibia and fibula and a pronation deformity of the ankle. Ideally, operative intervention should be delayed until skeletal maturity, but, in symptomatic patients, partial excision preserving the physis may be necessary for the relief of symptoms and the prevention of progressive ankle deformity. However, partial excision is associated with a high rate of recurrence, so a close follow-up is required. Skeletally mature patients who are symptomatic may require excision of the tumor.

P-glycoprotein levels predict poor outcome in patients with osteosarcoma.

To evaluate the relationship between the expression of P-glycoprotein by osteosarcomas and the rate of metastasis and death, a retrospective review of 172 patients who were diagnosed with osteosarcoma between 1987 and 1992 was performed. Forty patients had P-glycoprotein levels available. The majority of the osteosarcomas were Stage II-B (33 patients), with the remaining seven being Stage III. Tumor sites included 25 femurs, seven humeri, five tibias, and one each of pelvis, radius, and fibula. The patients with Stage III disease at presentation were treated differently from the time of diagnosis and therefore, these seven patients with Stage III osteosarcoma were excluded from additional analyses. The expression of P-glycoprotein by cultured tumor cells from biopsy specimens was determined using immunofluorescent microscopy. In the 33 patients with Stage IIB osteosarcoma with detectable P-glycoprotein, 67% (10 of 15) had metastases develop as compared with 28% (five of 18) of patients with undetectable P-glycoprotein. Similarly, 53% (eight of 15) of patients with tumors expressing P-glycoprotein died of disease compared with 11% (two of 18) with no detectable P-glycoprotein. Expression of P-glycoprotein by tumor cells seems to be associated with an estimated ninefold increase in the odds of death and a fivefold increase in the odds of metastases in patients with Stage IIB osteosarcoma. Kaplan-Meier survivorship analysis revealed that patients with detectable P-glycoprotein fared worse in terms of survival time and metastasis-free survival. Adjusting for covariates in the Cox proportional hazards model, expression of P-glycoprotein and its level were significantly predictive of time to death in patients with Stage IIB osteosarcoma.

Protrusio acetabuli and bilateral basicervical femoral neck fractures in a patient with Marfan syndrome.

A 22-year-old man with Marfan syndrome and bilateral protrusio acetabuli presented with bilateral femoral neck stress fractures after vigorous stretching exercises for hip "stiffness." Fifteen years later, his fractures, which were treated with internal fixation, have healed, his acetabular protrusion has not worsened, and his perceived hip "stiffness" persists. This case demonstrates a rare manifestation of Marfan syndrome, protrusio acetabuli, and a possible side effect of vigorous stretching in the face of abnormal joint mechanics.

Parturition-induced pelvic dislocation: a report of four cases.

OBJECTIVE: To describe our experience with four cases of severe pelvic dislocation associated with difficult parturition. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. PATIENTS: Four patients, each with rupture of the symphysis pubis and sacroiliac joints during labor. All injuries were associated with significant initial pain and disability. All developed persistent symptoms related to the sacroiliac disruption. INTERVENTIONS: The three patients who had presented acutely were freated with closed reduction and application of a pelvic binder. Two underwent closed reduction of their pelvic dislocation while anesthetized with a general anesthetic. One patient (N.A.), who presented late, had not been treated with a binder. RESULTS: All four patients had persistent posterior pelvic (sacroiliac) pain. In two patients a postpartum neuropathy persisted. CONCLUSIONS: Severe pelvic dislocations are rare during labor, with conservative treatment reported to be successful in most cases. The persistence of symptoms in our patients emphasizes the need for careful examination and follow-up of these rare injuries. Because the outcome in our patients was poor and results in the literature are equivocal, we suggest the consideration of an operative approach to treatment in patients with symphyseal diastasis of > 4.0 cm.

Increasing lordosis of the occipitocervical junction after arthrodesis in young children: the occipitocervical crankshaft phenomenon.

Five children were treated before age 6 years with occipitocervical fusion for occipitocervical instability. Long-term (average, 11.8 years; range, 8.4-14.5 years) follow-up revealed increasing lordosis across the fused segment in four of the patients, a finding we here refer to as the occipitocervical crankshaft phenomenon. On average, occipitocervical lordosis increased 1.06 degrees per level fused per year until skeletal maturity. Although such a progression might be expected, to our knowledge this is the first report of its occurrence. Compensatory subaxial motion was able to overcome this increase in all of the patients. We recommend occipitocervical fusion in a neutral or slightly flexed position in the very young child to account for this predictable increase in lordosis.

The use of osseous suture anchors in the treatment of severe, complicated elbow dislocations.

Seventeen patients who sustained severe trauma resulting in dislocation or fracture-dislocation of the elbow were treated using osseous suture anchors to repair the soft-tissue constraints of the elbow. In 15 of these patients, the medial collateral ligament and flexor-pronator origin were repaired. Ten patients underwent repair of the lateral collateral ligament using anchors. Five patients were also treated with a hinged external fixator. All of the elbows were rendered grossly unstable by the injury; all of the patients had stable elbows at follow-up. Elbow flexion averaged 127 degrees; an average 19 degrees extension loss was noted. The arc of forearm rotation averaged 156 degrees. The aggressive approach detailed in this report is applicable only to severe injuries to the elbow, not routine dislocations. These cases demonstrate the reliability of the osseous suture anchor in the operative treatment of massive trauma to the elbow.

Dislocation of the elbow complicated by arterial injury. Reconstructive strategy and functional outcome.

Four cases of arterial injury complicating posterior dislocation of the elbow are described. All of these patients were treated by emergent revascularization; reconstruction of the soft-tissue constraints of the elbow joint was performed by using osseous suture anchors. Despite prompt treatment of the vascular injury and successful restoration of elbow articulation and stability, all of the patients had residual functional disability. The previous literature has not discussed the functional results of these reconstructions. This report underscores the severity of these injuries, details our reconstructive strategy, and analyzes the functional outcome of these badly traumatized extremities.