Practice Changes Induced by a Traveling Fellowship.

The John N. Insall Knee Society Traveling Fellowship selects four international arthroplasty or sports fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeons to spend 1 month traveling to various Knee Society members' joint replacement and knee surgery centers in North America. The fellowship aims to foster research and education and shares ideas among fellows and Knee Society members. The role of such traveling fellowships on surgeon preferences has yet to be investigated. A 59-question survey encompassing patient selection, preoperative planning, intraoperative techniques, and postoperative protocols was completed by the four 2018 Insall Traveling Fellows before and immediately after the completion of traveling fellowship to assess anticipated practice changes (e.g., initial excitement) related to their participation in a traveling fellowship. The same survey was completed 4 years after the completion of the traveling fellowship to assess the implementation of the anticipated practice changes. Survey questions were divided into two groups based on levels of evidence in the literature. Immediately after fellowship, there was a median of 6.5 (range: 3-12) anticipated changes in consensus topics and a median of 14.5 (range: 5-17) anticipated changes in controversial topics. There was no statistical difference in the excitement to change consensus or controversial topics (p = 0.921). Four years after completing a traveling fellowship, a median of 2.5 (range: 0-3) consensus topics and 4 (range: 2-6) controversial topics were implemented. There was no statistical difference in the implementation of consensus or controversial topics (p = 0.709). There was a statistically significant decline in the implementation of changes in consensus and controversial preferences compared with the initial level of excitement (p = 0.038 and 0.031, respectively). After the John N. Insall Knee Society Traveling Fellowship, there is excitement for practice change in consensus and controversial topics related to total knee arthroplasty. However, few practice changes that had initial excitement were implemented after 4-year follow-up. Ultimately, the effects of time, practice inertia, and institutional friction overcome most of the anticipated changes induced by a traveling fellowship.

Mid- to long-term follow-up of combined small implants.

AIMS: In the last decade, interest in partial knee arthroplasties and bicruciate retaining total knee arthroplasties has increased. In addition, patient-related outcomes and functional results such as range of movement and ambulation may be more promising with less invasive procedures such as bicompartmental arthroplasty (BCA). The purpose of this study is to evaluate clinical and radiological outcomes after a third-generation patellofemoral arthroplasty (PFA) combined with a medial or lateral unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) at mid- to long-term follow-up. METHODS: A total of 57 procedures were performed. In 45 cases, a PFA was associated with a medial UKA and, in 12, with a lateral UKA. Patients were followed with validated patient-reported outcome measures (Oxford Knee Score (OKS), EuroQol five-dimension questionnaire (EQ-5D), EuroQoL Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS)), the Knee Society Score (KSS), the Forgotten Joint Score (FJS), and radiological analysis. RESULTS: The mean follow-up was nine years (6 to 13). All scores significantly improved from preoperatively to final follow-up (mean and SD): OKS from 23.2 (8.1) to 42.5 (3.5), EQ-5D from 0.44 (0.25) to 0.815 (0.1), EQ-VAS from 46.7 (24.9) to 89.1 (9.8), KSS (Knee) from 51.4 (8.5) to 94.4 (4.2), and KSS (Function) from 48.7 (5.5) to 88.8 (5.2). The mean FJS at final follow-up was 79.2 (4.2). All failures involved the medial UKA + PFA group. Overall, survival rate was 91.5% for all the combined implants at ten years with 95% confidence intervals and 22 knees at risk. CONCLUSION: Excellent clinical and radiological outcomes were achieved after a third-generation PFA combined with a medial or lateral UKA. BCA with unlinked partial knee prostheses showed a good survival rate at mid- to long-term follow-up. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2021;103-B(5):840-845.

Unstable total hip replacement: why? Clinical and radiological aspects.

INTRODUCTION: Dislocation after total hip arthroplasty (THA) is the most common cause of revision hip surgery in the United States, ahead of aseptic loosening and infection, and is responsible for considerable economic cost related to frequent readmission and/or revision surgery. The aim of this article is to identify the clinical and radiological factors related to the unstable total hip replacement. METHODS: We performed a literature search to assess current strategies to define clinical and radiological characteristics of dislocation after primary THA using the PubMed platform. The characteristics related to THA instability were divided into patient related factors, implant related factors and surgeon experience. RESULTS: Patient-related factors for instability identified are: age; inflammatory joint disease; prior hip surgery; preoperative diagnosis; comorbidity; ASA score; presence of spino-pelvic abnormality; and neurological disability. Gender, simultaneous bilateral THA and restrictive postoperative precautions do not influence rate of THA dislocation. Implant related factors identified are: surgical approach; component malposition; femoral head size; and the use of dual-mobility or constrained solution. Surgeon experience also reduces the rate of dislocation. DISCUSSION: Dislocation is a major complication of THAs, and causes include patient-derived factors, surgical factors, or both. It is imperative to determine the cause of the instability via a complete patient and radiographic evaluation and to adjust the reconstruction strategy accordingly.

Intraoperative Practice Variability in Total Knee Arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: Considerable practice variability exists among orthopedic surgeons performing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The purpose of this study is to understand what TKA surgical and perioperative techniques are standard among high-volume academic knee arthroplasty surgeons. METHODS: A written survey with 59 questions regarding management preferences in TKA was distributed by the 2018 John N. Insall Traveling Fellows to all arthroplasty-trained attending physicians at 13 medical centers, with 45 responses recorded. RESULTS: Surveyed surgeons performed unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (88%) and bilateral TKA (87%). Most surveyed surgeons rarely or never performed outpatient primary TKA (71%). Conventional alignment guides and cemented implants were used by 80% of respondents. Most surgeons used posterior-stabilized implants (67%), followed by cruciate-retaining (20%), ultracongruent (20%), and medial congruent or medial pivot designs (17.8%). Surveyed surgeons frequently or always resurfaced the patella (73%), used a tourniquet for the entire case (73%), and used tranexamic acid for all TKAs (91%). The most common locations for intra-articular anesthetic injection were the arthrotomy (91%), the periosteum (84%), and the medial posterior capsule (82%). Saline (62%) and dilute iodine (47%) were the most common irrigation fluids. The arthrotomy was most commonly closed with running barbed suture (60%) followed by interrupted vicryl (40%). Skin closure was predominantly with running monocryl (60%) followed by staples (29%). Anticoagulation for TKA was primarily aspirin 81 mg BID (60%). CONCLUSION: There was considerable variability among surgeons polled although a strong preference for more conventional and less developmental techniques prevailed.

Knee replacement in chronic post-traumatic cases.

Post-traumatic knee arthritis is a challenging condition. Prosthetic surgery is demanding and the risk of complications is relatively high.Planning is an essential element of this surgery; correct diagnosis (to exclude latent infection) and adequate considerations regarding approach, axis, bone loss, choice of implant and level of constraint are indispensable.There are two main categories of post-traumatic arthritis: extra-articular deformities and articular deformities.Use of an algorithms can support the surgeon's choice of implant.Correct implant positioning and limb alignment restoration is associated with very good results, similar to those achieved with standard total knee arthroplasty. Cite this article: Benazzo F, Rossi SMP, Combi A, Meena S, Ghiara M. Knee replacement in chronic post-traumatic cases. EFORT Open Rev 2016:1:211-218. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.1.000025.

Total knee replacement in acute and chronic traumatic events.

Total knee replacement (TKR) is a widely used procedure for the treatment of post-traumatic arthritis. This type of solution has also been used recently for the treatment of acute fractures around the knee, particularly in joints that were already arthritic before the trauma. The purpose of this paper is to present our experience with TKR in both acute and chronic traumatic events, highlighting the main problems associated with these conditions and focussing on the indications, principles of technique, tips, tricks and pitfalls of this procedure. The main issues related to post-traumatic arthritis and the problem of TKR in acute fractures are discussed, and our case series of both groups of patients is presented.

Partial knee arthroplasty: patellofemoral arthroplasty and combined unicompartmental and patellofemoral arthroplasty implants--general considerations and indications, technique and clinical experience.

BACKGROUND: Unicompartmental and patellofemoral arthroplasty (PFA) are not new concepts as shown by different authors, and nowadays surgical solutions other than total knee arthroplasty (TKA) must be considered, exploiting the technical possibilities offered by the new designs of prostheses which have improved the results of already used, old fashioned implants. The aim of our study was to present our experience with PFA and its combination with unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA). METHODS: From March 2007 to May 2012 we have treated 55 patients with a patellofemoral joint arthroplasty; in 25 cases we have performed an isolated PFA and in 30 cases a combined UKA and PFA. The mean follow-up in the group of isolated patellofemoral joint arthroplasty was 56.5 months; in the combined implant the mean follow-up was 59 months. RESULTS: In both group we found an significant improvement of HSS, KSS and OKS scores with results at final follow-up ranging from good to excellent. CONCLUSIONS: Partial knee arthroplasty shows promising results at mid-term follow-up.

Mid-term results of an uncemented femoral stem with modular neck options.

We prospectively assessed the results of 239 primary total hip replacements performed using a conical stem combined with modular necks of different lengths and inclinations (Modulus System, Lima Corporate San Daniele Del Friuli, Udine, Italia) in 222 patients (50 men, 172 women), undergoing surgery between October 2001 and December 2006 and presenting with anatomical deformities of the proximal femur and/or acetabulum, including developmental dysplasia (DDH), ankylosis, and sequelae of osteotomies or fractures. Such conditions can make hip replacement problematic. The mean age at the time of surgery was 57.6 years (22 ÷ 83). No patients were lost to follow-up. 3 femoral components underwent revision. At a mean of 5 years follow-up the Harris Hip Score showed a significant improvement, increasing from 35 preoperatively to a mean of 96.6. Using Kaplan-Meier analysis the survival rate at 5 years was 98.28%. The Modulus stem showed good mid-term results in terms of survival, as well as clinical and radiographic outcome.