The use of autologous platelet-rich fibrin matrix combined with meniscal repair in the treatment of parameniscal cyst: clinical results and cyst recurrence after 2-year of follow up.

PURPOSE: Parameniscal cysts are associate with horizontal meniscal tears. Arthroscopic meniscal repair and the excision of the cyst by mini-open approach represent a valid treatment. However, the recurrence of cyst is still a current issue. Therefore, biological factors may be considered to promote the biological repair and avoid recurrence. The aim of the present study was to report the clinical results and the rate of recurrence of the cyst after minimum 2-year of follow up in a cohort of patients treated by meniscal repair and autologous platelet-rich fibrin matrix augment. METHODS: Patients with lateral parameniscal cyst undergoing arthroscopic meniscal repair and autologous platelet-rich fibrin matrix augment between 2016 and 2019 were retrospectively reviewed in March 2021. Inclusion criteria were absence of prior surgery on the affected knee with minimum 2-year of follow-up. Exclusion criteria were concomitant ligament lesions, rheumatic diseases and knee osteoarthritis. After reviewing the database, each selected patient was contacted and asked to participate in the study; at the follow-up evaluation all patient signed an informed consent. Tegner-Lysholm knee score, IKDC and NRS were collected before surgery and at follow-up. RESULTS: This study included 15 patients (8 male) with mean age of 32.8 years old. No recurrence of the cysts was observed. The Tegner-Lysholm knee score and IKDC subjective scores increased respectively from 41.3 ± 5.4 and 37.6 ± 5.1 at baseline to 92.3 ± 4.6 and 89.4 ± 2.6 at the final follow up. Concerning pain relief, the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NRS) displayed a significant improvement reaching at the follow up a score of 1,3 ± 1.1 in comparison to 6.8 ± 0.9 at the baseline. CONCLUSION: Surgical management of symptomatic lateral parameniscal cyst with cyst excision, autologous PRP membrane application and meniscus repair demonstrated excellent subjective clinical outcome with any cyst reoccurrence. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III, retrospective cohort study.

Bipolar Sealers Do not Improve Blood Loss or Functional Outcomes of Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Several methods were introduced to limit perioperative blood loss in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). By transcollation of soft tissues below 100°C, bipolar sealers intend to reduce bleeding and tissue damage, compared with conventional electrocautery. Existing studies report contradictory findings about the performance of bipolar sealers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a bipolar sealer on blood loss, transfusions, hospital length of stay (LOS), and functional scores in primary TKA. In this single-center prospective study, 101 patients, undergoing primary TKA in a fast-track setting without tourniquet use, were randomly assigned to either (1) the study group which was operated with a bipolar sealer or (2) the control group operated with conventional electrocautery. The study cohort comprised 49 men and 52 women, aged 71.1 ± 8.8 years. There was no significant difference between the bipolar sealer group and the control group in terms of blood loss at day 3 (1,240 ± 547.4 vs. 1,376 ± 584.4 mL; p = ns [not significant]), transfusion rate (10 vs. 4%; p = ns), surgery time (48.2 ± 10.8 vs. 46.6 ± 9.1 minute; p = ns) or LOS (4.1 ± 2.7 vs 4.3 ± 2.0 days; p = ns). At a mean follow-up of 63.3 ± 4.9 days, there was no significant difference between the bipolar sealer group and the control group in terms of net improvement of Knee Society Score (KSS) knee (26.0 ± 16.7 vs. 23.7 ± 12.3; p = ns) and KSS function (20.4 ± 19.3 vs. 20.8 ± 19.9; p = ns). Compared with the use of conventional electrocautery in primary TKA without tourniquet, we found no effect of bipolar sealer use on blood loss, transfusion rates, LOS, or functional recovery. This is a Level II, prospective cohort study.

Patient-Specific Instrumentation Does Not Affect Rotational Alignment of the Femoral Component and Perioperative Blood Loss in Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Proposed aims of patient-specific instrumentation (PSI) for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) are to improve accuracy of component alignment, while reducing blood loss and surgical time. The primary goal of this prospective, randomized, controlled, clinical trial is to verify whether PSI improves the rotational alignment of the femoral component in comparison to conventionally implanted TKA. METHODS: One-hundred thirty-three consecutive patients were assessed for eligibility. Block randomization was performed to allocated patients in the treatment (PSI) or control group. During hospital stay, surgical times were recorded, and total blood volume loss and estimated red blood cell were calculated. Two months after surgery, a computed tomography of the knee was obtained to measure femoral component rotation to the transepicondylar axis and tibial component slope. RESULTS: Sixty-nine patients were enrolled. PSI did neither result in a significant improvement in femoral component rotation nor result in a reduction of outliers, as compared with conventional instrumentation. No significant improvement in terms of tibial slope, blood loss, total surgical time, and ischemia time could be identified. The number of tibial recuts required in the PSI group was significantly higher than in the control group (P = .0003). CONCLUSION: PSI does not improve the accuracy of femoral component rotation in TKA in comparison to conventional instrumentation. Moreover, PSI did not appear to influence any of the other variables investigated as secondary goals by this study. The results of this study do not support its routine use during standard TKA. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level I, randomized, controlled trial.

Proximal medial patellar restraints and their surgical reconstruction.

Reconstruction of the medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) has been increasing as a surgical solution for treatment of recurrent lateral patellofemoral dislocation. Recent attention has been given to fibers extending from the femur to the quadriceps tendon, proximal to the MPFL, termed the medial quadriceps tendon-femoral ligament. This article briefly reviews the proximal medial patellar restraints and surgical procedures for their reconstruction.

Should the patella be everted during primary total knee arthroplasty? A systematic review of overlapping meta-analyses.

Patellar eversion during total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a debated issue. The aim of this study is to perform a review of overlapping meta-analyses analyzing clinical outcomes of patellar eversion compared to noneversion. A search was performed in PubMed\MEDLINE, Scopus, and Cochrane Library. Inclusion criteria were meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi-RCTs;l comparison between TKAs with or without patellar eversion; and at least one outcome, such as reoperation rate, pain, and functional scores. Meta-analyses were evaluated with the A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Review (AMSTAR) score, addressing the most relevant one with the Jadad algorithm. Three meta-analyses were identified and included in this review. No significant differences were found regarding complications, quadriceps strength, functional, and radiological outcomes. The meta-analysis by Zan et al. was selected as the best available one. Patellar eversion group showed a shorter tourniquet time but a longer skin incision. In conclusion, eversion and noneversion techniques did not demonstrate any significant or clinically relevant difference. Level of Evidence: Level II, systematic review of meta-analyses.

Subchondroplasty in the Treatment of Bone Marrow Lesions of the Knee: Preliminary Experience on First 15 Patients.

Purpose The aim of this prospective study was to assess the effectiveness in terms of pain relief and functional improvement of the Subchondroplasty procedure in the treatment of osteoarthritis-related bone marrow lesions (BMLs) of the knee. Methods The study included first 15 consecutive patients undergone to Subchondroplasty procedure for the treatment of chronic degenerative BMLs in which previous conservative treatment have failed. Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scores, Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Scores (KOOS), and visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores were obtained preoperatively and at 1, 6, and 12 months of follow-up. Results WOMAC scores significantly improved from 39.7 ± 20.2 before surgery to 26.8 ± 16.1 at the 1-month follow-up ( p = 0.045). A further significant improvement to 15.5 ± 12.7 ( p = 0.02) and to 8.6 ± 3.1 ( p < 0.01) was obtained both at 6-month and at 1-year follow-up. KOOS scores improved significantly from 47.5 ± 16.6 before surgery to 65.4 ± 14.9 at 1 month ( p = 0.013) and to 80.4 ± 15.1 at 6-month follow-up ( p = 0.01). A further improvement to 85.6 ± 15.1 was recorded 1 year postoperatively, although nonsignificant. VAS score showed a significant improvement from 55.8 ± 20.5 preoperatively to 36.2 ± 16.9 at 1 month ( p = 0.008) and to 18.2 ± 17.3 at 6-month follow-up ( p = 0.005). This further improved to 12.8 ± 17.9 at 1-year follow-up, although not significantly. Conclusion Subchondroplasty procedure represents a safe and valid surgical option in the treatment of osteoarthritis-related BMLs of the knee, providing an improvement in terms of pain relief and functional recovery. Longer studies are required to evaluate how long these improvements may last. Level of Evidence Therapeutic case-series, Level IV study.

Association of a hi-tech with a bio-tech technique in the treatment of early osteoarthritis of the knee: a case report.

Meniscal replacement to treat early osteoarthritis of the knee after meniscectomy may be accompanied by other surgical procedures to treat factors predisposing to a negative intervention outcome. Overload of the medial compartment in slight varus can be reduced by applying the new KineSpring system, which can promote the best possible outcome of a biodegradable meniscal scaffold implantation, without producing biomechanical and anatomical alterations of the joint. This is the first case report on the combination of these hi-tech and bio-tech techniques.

Revision Surgery in Permanent Patellar Dislocation in DiGeorge Syndrome.

A 29-year-old patient, suffering from DiGeorge syndrome, came to our attention with a history of persistent pain and patellar instability in the left knee after failure of arthroscopic lateral release and Elmslie-Trillat procedure. The patient was unable to walk without crutches and severely limited in daily living activities. Because of arthritic changes of the patellofemoral joint and the failure of previous surgeries it was decided to perform only an open lateral release and medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction using a biosynthetic ligament in order to obtain patellofemoral stability. At one year post-op range of motion (ROM) was 0-120 with a firm end point at medial patellar mobilization; patella was stable throughout the entire ROM. All the scores improved and she could be able to perform daily activity without sensation of instability. Bilateral patellar subluxation and systemic hyperlaxity are characteristics of syndromic patients and according to literature can be also present in DiGeorge syndrome. MPFL reconstruction with lateral release was demonstrated to be the correct solution in the treatment of patellar instability in this complex case. The choice of an artificial ligament to reconstruct the MPFL was useful in this specific patient with important tissue laxity due to her congenital syndrome.

Treatment of osteochondritis dissecans of the knee with a biomimetic scaffold. A prospective multicenter study.

PURPOSE: the aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical outcome of the treatment of osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) of the knee with a type-I collagen-hydroxyapatite nanostructural biomimetic osteochondral scaffold. METHODS: twenty-three patients affected by symptomatic knee OCD of the femoral condyles, grade 3 or 4 of the International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS) scale, underwent biomimetic scaffold implantation. The site of the defect was the medial femoral condyle in 14 patients, whereas in 9 patients the lateral femoral condyle was involved. The average size of the defects was 3.5±1.43 cm(2). All patients were clinically evaluated using the ICRS subjective score, the IKDC objective score, the EQ-VAS and the Tegner Activity Score. Minimum follow-up was two years. MRI was performed at 12 and 24 months after surgery and then every 12 months thereafter. RESULTS: the ICRS subjective score improved from the baseline value of 50.93±20.6 to 76.44±18.03 at the 12 months (p<0.0005) and 82.23± 17.36 at the two-year follow-up (p<0.0005). The IKDC objective score confirmed the results. The EQ-VAS showed a significant improvement from 3.15±1.09 to 8.15±1.04 (p<0.0005) at two years of follow-up. The Tegner Activity Score improvement was statistically significant (p<0.0005). CONCLUSIONS: biomimetic scaffold implantation was a good procedure for treating grade 3 and 4 OCD, in which other classic techniques are burdened by different limitations. This open one-step surgery gave promising stable results at short-term follow-up. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV, therapeutic case series.

Surgical treatment of partial anterior cruciate ligament lesions: medium-term results.

PURPOSE: this study was conducted to evaluate subjective and objective clinical outcomes of partial reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in comparison with complete ACL reconstruction. METHODS: three groups, each comprising 20 patients, were evaluated at a minimum follow-up of 12 months. The group 1 patients underwent partial ACL reconstruction, while those in group 2 and group 3 underwent complete ACL reconstruction, performed using either bone-patellar tendon-bone (BPTB) or quadrupled hamstring tendon (HT) grafts, respectively. The subjective outcome was evaluated using the Lysholm knee scale and the subjective International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scoring system. A visual analog scale (VAS) was used for pain assessment and sporting activity was rated using the Tegner activity scale. Objective evaluation was performed using the IKDC objective form, KT-1000 arthrometer and KiRA triaxial accelerometer. RESULTS: at the follow-up evaluation, the mean subjective IKDC score was 86.1±10.3 in group 1, 85.2±11.1 in group 2, and 82.7±7.8 in group 3. The Lysholm score was 91.3±7.3 in group 1, 91.7±9.6 in group 2, and 89.4±6.1 in group 3. KT-1000 tests showed a mean side-to-side difference of 1.1 mm ± 1.5 mm (range, 0-5 mm) in group 1; 0.79 mm ± 0.8 mm (range, 0-2mm) in group 2; and 1.45 mm ± 1 mm (range, 0-3 mm) in group 3. The differences between groups were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: both subjective and objective outcomes of partial ACL reconstruction were comparable to those of complete reconstruction, but partial reconstruction in the presence of a partial lesion of the ACL is considered by the authors to be more respectful of the native vascularization, innervation and anatomy of the ACL, conferring an advantage in terms of recovery of the complete function of the knee. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, retrospective comparative study.