Efficacy of Cal-Cemex as bone substitute for tibial plateau fractures.

BACKGROUND: Various factors influence treatment and outcomes in tibial plateau fractures. Bone defects are among them. Many materials have been proposed to address this problem: allograft, bone-cements and various bone substitutes (BSM). Cal-Cemex (ß-tricalciophosphate and polymethylmethacrylate) is a new hybrid bi-component BSM. A retrospective multicenter study was conducted based on the clinical experience of three European Hospitals, to demonstrate its clinical effectiveness, versatility and safety. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From December 2016 to March 2022, 45 displaced tibial plateau fractures were treated with internal fixation and augmentation using Cal-Cemex. The average age was 55.9 years. According to Schatzker classification, we included 13 type II, 24 type III, 3 type V and 4 type VI fractures. The postoperative follow-up (FU) consisted of clinical and radiological examinations at 6 and 12 weeks and 1 year after surgery. A CT scan was performed preoperatively and 1 year after surgery. Full weight bearing was permitted after less than 6 weeks. Clinical data were collected from patient charts, while functional data were evaluated using the Rasmussen knee function score, the KOOS score and the Hospital for Special Surgery knee rating score (HSS), to evaluate the range of motion, axis and functionality of the knee. RESULTS: The average FU was 42.8 months. CT scans taken at 1 year demonstrated a good surface osteointegration without radiolucent lines or osteolysis with good evidence of interdigitation and even bone ingrowth. At 1-year FU, the mean Rasmussen score was 24.7, the mean KOOS score was 90.7 and the mean HSS was 89.9 and the average full weight-bearing period 34.9. No patients had hardware failure or fracture secondary displacement. DISCUSSION: Cal-Cemex combines biological features and good mechanical performances. It guarantees biocompatibility and osteoconductivity, although it is not fully reabsorbable; ß-tricalciophosphate component gives macro- and microporosity that allow fluids to penetrate inside the material, to stimulate bone ingrowth. CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests that Cal-Cemex is an option for tibial plateau fractures, where augmentation and support are necessary for early full weight bearing. The absence of major complications, ease of application, the possibility to cut and perforate this material support its extensive use in bone augmentation for trauma cases.

Evalutation of the perceived quality in the Orthopedics/Traumatology Unit at Carlo Poma Hospital in Mantova.

The background and the aim of the work: The Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology of the "Carlo Poma" Hospital (Social Territorial Health Authority of Mantova), has pointed out in 2017, through the questionnaires survey over the citizens satisfaction, an appreciation decrease compared to the previous years. The obtained data were not sufficiently explanatory of the reasons for that kind of deterioration and also not enough specific to define possible corrective measures. The aim of this work was to identify the patients' perception regarding the hospitalization phases (from booking to follow up), taking into account five kind of operations and pathologies: 1st knee, shoulder and tibio-talar arthroscopy; 2nd hip and knee prosthesis; 3rd upper limb traumatology; 4th lower limb traumatology and 5th orthogeriatrics. METHODS: The research is based on 29 narrations resulted from orthopedic patients between 30 and 80 days after the time of discharge. RESULTS: The phases of care path which get the highest level of satisfaction are those concerning the operation and the outpatient visit followed by rehabilitation and assistive continuation. The most negative phase was the discharge but, also the needs assistance respond, the reception, the microclimate and the pre-operative medical assessment resulted contradictory. At the same time the three most significant areas of improvement were: the organization (critical for upper limb traumatology, arthroscopy and prosthetics); the health features (critical for the lower limb, orthogeriatrics and traumatology) and medical information (the most critical issues were those concerning the upper limb traumatology while the less were the orthogeriatrics ones). CONCLUSION: Use the narration to go into the orthopedic patient needs and perceptions allows to activate appropriate and customized organizational and professional changes in order to answer adequatly to the patient's needs to limit litigation and defence medicine expences.

Surgical technique: articulated external fixator for treatment of complex knee dislocation.

BACKGROUND: Knee dislocation is a severe but relatively uncommon injury caused by violent trauma that can result in long-term complications, such as arthrofibrosis, stiffness, instability, and pain. Perhaps owing in part to its rarity, treatment of this injury is controversial. We therefore describe a treatment approach for these complex cases involving a novel dynamic knee external fixator. DESCRIPTION OF TECHNIQUE: We performed open PCL reconstruction when possible and/or repair of other associated lesions. At the end of the surgical procedure, the surgeon applied an external fixator that reproduced normal knee kinematics, allowing early motion exercises and reducing the risk of joint stiffness while protecting the bony and soft tissue structures involved in the repair during the first healing phase. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed eight patients treated with this approach, four of whom had the PCL reconstructed and four of whom had only associated injuries reconstructed. We evaluated all patients with clinical scores (subjective International Knee Documentation Committee form, Lysholm score, and Tegner level), physical examination (objective International Knee Documentation Committee form), and KT-1000™ arthrometer for AP laxity. Minimum followup was 10 months (mean, 26 months; range, 10-45 months). RESULTS: One patient had manipulation under anesthesia. The median Lysholm score was 76, Tegner level was 4, and subjective International Knee Documentation Committee was 73. All patients recovered to their preinjury work activity, except one unemployed patient. Stability was normal or nearly normal in five patients; the mean side-to-side difference in AP displacement with manual maximum force was 2.9 mm. CONCLUSIONS: This approach with an external fixator allowed staged reconstruction and early motion and provided reasonable stability, ROM, and activity level at followup in patients with complex injuries. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV, therapeutic study. See Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Percutaneous CT-guided vertebroplasty in the management of osteoporotic fractures and dorsolumbar metastases.

Percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) is a minimally invasive, image-guided procedure consisting of an injection of acrylic cement into a vertebral body to reinforce the compressed segment and achieve pain relief. The use of PVP is a minimally invasive option in the treatment of osteoporotic or metastatic vertebral collapses. Our personal experience, using a CT-guided technique, confirms the efficacy and safety of PVP with a lower risk for complications compared with conventional fluoroscopic approaches because of a precise placement of the instruments in the vertebral body and an early detection of small cement leakages.

MRI versus scintigraphy with 99mTc-HMPAO-labelled granulocytes in the diagnosis of bone infection.

PURPOSE: To assess the reliability of MRI and scintigraphy with 99mTc-HMPAO-labelled granulocytes in the diagnosis of bone infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between November 2001 and November 2003, 25 patients (16 men and 9 women; age range 22-72 years; mean age 48 years) with suspected bone infection were evaluated. The lower limbs were more frequently involved (20/25 cases). MRI (T1 and T2-w sequences, both with and without fat suppression; T1-w fat-suppressed sequence after Gadolinium administration) and scintigraphy with 99mTc-HMPAO-labelled granulocytes were performed in all patients; the study was performed 30 min, 150 min and 24 h after the injection of 99mTc labelled autologous granulocytes. The maximum interval between MRI and scintigraphy was 15 days. The diagnosis was confirmed surgically (18/25 cases) or by clinical follow-up (7/25 cases). RESULTS: In 10/25 cases the clinical suspicion of bone infection was confirmed by MRI, scintigraphy and surgery. In 12/25 cases the clinical suspicion of bone infection was not confirmed either by imaging, surgery (5/12 cases) or follow-up (7/12 cases). In 3/25 cases the results were discordant: in 1/3 cases with chronic osteomyelitis confirmed by MRI and surgery, a false-negative diagnosis was made by scintigraphy. In 2/3 cases with negative MRI diagnoses confirmed by surgery, a false-positive diagnosis was made by scintigraphy owing to the infection of adjacent soft tissues. CONCLUSIONS: MRI is more reliable for the detection and evaluation of the local spread of bone infection. Conversely, when metallic devices causing artefacts on MR images are present, scintigraphy is the preferred alternative modality.

Alignment and articular orientation of lower limbs: manual vs computer-aided measurements on digital radiograms.

PURPOSE: To compare the manual measurements of lower limbs on digital images with those obtained with dedicated software. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty patients with a clinical suspicion of lower limb deformity were enrolled. Eighty digital radiographs were produced with a remote-controlled radiography system (Philips Omnidiagnost). The measurements were taken separately by an Orthopaedic Surgeon and by a Radiologist, by hand and with the aid of software, respectively. Five parameters were assessed: femoral length, tibial length, distal-medial femoral angle, proximal-medial tibial angle and tibial-femoral angle. The statistical analysis of the comparison was based on Student's t-test. The inter-observer variability of the methods, manual and computer-aided, was evaluated with Fisher's F-test on a sample of measurements (20 lower limbs), taken by 5 different Orthopaedic Surgeons and Radiologists, respectively. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between the measurements taken with the manual and computer-aided methods (p<0.05). The overall reproducibility of both methods was similar; conversely, the separate evaluation of angles and lengths showed that the computer-aided method was less variable in the measurement of angles and a little more variable in the measurement of lengths than the manual method. CONCLUSIONS: The computer-aided evaluation of the alignment and articular orientation parameters of lower limbs is as accurate and reliable as the traditional manual method, but is faster and allows better-quality images.