A comparison of full arthroscopic and arthroscopic-assisted mini-open repair methods in rotator cuff tears 1-3 cm in size.

INTRODUCTION: Retrospective evaluation of rotator cuff repair with arthroscopic or arthroscopic-assisted mini-open methods for a diagnosis of non-retracted rotator cuff tear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 45 patients underwent rotator cuff repair; Group 1 (n = 24) with arthroscopic-assisted mini-open method and Group 2 (n = 21) with full arthroscopic method. RESULTS: Within both Group 1 and Group 2, a statistically significant results is p = 0.001. The patients of Group 2 were seen to return to daily life earlier than those of Group 1 (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients where full arthroscopic repair was applied, there was evidence of an earlier return to daily life. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV, retrospective comparative study.

The relationship between the type of unstable intertrochanteric femur fracture and mobility in the elderly.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of uniform anti-rotational proximal femoral intramedullary nail (APFN) use on patient mobility status with the treatment of two different unstable intertrochanteric femur fracture groups of geriatric patients. METHODS: The study included patients aged > 65 years who underwent surgery with APFN. Group 1 comprised AO classification, AO/OTA 31-A22, and A23 patients, and group 2, A31 and A32 patients. The demographic data of the patients, postoperative complications, follow-up, mortality status, postoperative reduction, tip-apex distance (TAD), and the Parker-Palmer mobility (PPM) score were evaluated. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in terms of gender, affected side, time from trauma to surgery, ASA score, anesthesia type, duration of hospitalization, duration of surgery, TAD values, reduction values, or mortality rate. The average age of patients in group 2 was significantly higher than that of patients in group 1 (p < 0.05). The mobility scores of group 1 patients were significantly higher than those of group 2 (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: While no relationship was found between the TAD values and the reduction status of the cases, the PPM scores of the AO 31 A3 cases were determined to be significantly worse. Therefore, fractures with a preoperative classification of AO type 31 A3 can be expected to have worse results than A2 ITF fractures. The fracture type seems to have as great an effect as other factors on the postoperative mobility score.

Analysis of glenohumeral morphological factors for anterior shoulder instability and rotator cuff tear by magnetic resonance imaging.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate whether there are glenohumeral morphological differences between normal population, glenohumeral instability, and rotator cuff pathology. METHOD: In this study, shoulder magnetic resonance (MR) images of 150 patients were evaluated. Patients included in the study were studied in three groups of 50 individuals: patients with anterior shoulder instability in group 1, patients with rotator cuff tear in group 2, and control subjects without shoulder pathology in group 3. RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences between groups in evaluations for glenoid version, glenoid coronal height, glenoid coronal diameter, humeral axial and coronal diameters, and coracohumeral interval distances. Significant differences were observed between groups 2 and 3 in glenoid axial diameter, glenoid coronal height, glenoid depth, humeral coronal diameter, and coracohumeral distances. CONCLUSION: The results obtained in this study suggest that glenoid version, glenoid coronal height and diameter, humeral diameter, and coracohumeral interval parameters in glenohumeral morphology-related parameters in patients with anterior instability are different from those of normal population and patients with rotator cuff pathology. In cases where there is a clinically difficult diagnosis, these radiological measurements will be helpful to clinicians in diagnosis and treatment planning, especially in cases of treatment-resistant cases.

Comparison of different femoral fixation implants and fit techniques for tunnel widening and clinical outcome in ACL reconstruction using hamstring autograft.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the current study is to investigate in different femoral fixation devices whether tight (undersize drilled) fit technique decreases the tunnel widening and improves the clinical outcome compared to conventional technique in ACL reconstruction using hamstring tendon autograft. METHODS: 93 patients, who underwent Arthroscopic ACL reconstruction whether cortical-cancellous suspension (CP) or cortical suspension (BF) used as fixation device for the hamstring tendon autograft, were included in the study. The cases also grouped as undersize drilled (tight fit) and normal drilled (normal fit) according to their autograft size. There was no difference in demographic data of these four subgroups (CP-TF, CP-NF, BF-TF, and BF-NF) preoperatively. RESULTS: The patients, who had been followed for at least 2 years were included in the study. They were looked for their clinical outcome (Lysholm and IKDC scoring), tunnel widening (on AP and lateral radiographs), and also anterior translation. The BF-TF subgroup showed significantly the best clinical results compared to other three subgroups. There was no difference between BF-TF, CP-TF, and CP-NF in terms of tunnel widening. CONCLUSION: Button fixation of femoral side in ACL reconstruction surgery has good clinical outcome and lower complication rate. Undersize drilling might be preferred in button fixation in order to reduce TW and improve stability and clinical satisfaction. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic case series, Level IV.

Calculation of pediatric femoral fracture rotation from direct roentgenograms.

BACKGROUND: Radiologic determination of pediatric femoral fracture rotation has been debated. Measuring the antetorsion angle of the fractured femur by computed tomography and comparing it with the opposite side has been the method of choice for this purpose. However, no simple method for direct measurement of femoral fracture rotation exists in the literature. In this study, our aim was to test a mathematical method of measuring the axial plane malrotation from direct roentgenograms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A pediatric femoral shaft fracture model was produced. The bone was secured to a wooden frame that allowed the distal part of the fracture to rotate around an axis. Radiographs were taken at known intervals of rotation ranging from the neutral position to 60° external rotation and to 60° internal rotation in 5° increments of rotation. Five independent, blinded observers measured the radiographs and calculated the fracture rotation according to a standard formula. Calculated rotation values were compared with known rotation values. RESULTS: Calculated rotation values were close to actual rotation values throughout the arc of rotation. The mean absolute error of five observers for all measurements of external and internal rotation was 3.97° (±0.83). The correlation coefficient between calculated and actual rotation values was 0.9927. The interobserver intraclass correlation coefficient for calculated rotation was 0.997. CONCLUSIONS: Absolute error and correlation coefficient values indicate that this method is accurate and reliable in determining the fracture rotation.

Comparison of distal and proximal centralising devices in hip arthroplasty.

Centralising devices were introduced to ensure that the prosthesis is implanted in a neutral position and that a cement mantle of optimal thickness is achieved proximally and distally. A distal centralising device (DCD) is compared with a proximal midshaft centralising device (PCD) to test which one provides a more neutral prosthetic alignment. Thirty consecutive patients undergoing hemiarthroplasties for femoral neck fractures were studied prospectively. Patients were blindly randomised to receive either a femoral component with proximal midshaft centraliser or distal centraliser. Both components were implanted following the manufacturer's protocol. Postoperative true anteroposterior and lateral radiographs were made to assess the stem position. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in zones 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 in both anteroposterior and lateral radiographic measurements. DCP and PCD both have similar centralisation and cement mantle. Future studies should be done to evaluate their long-term effect.