Ramp lesions are six times more likely to be observed in the presence of a posterior medial tibial bone bruise in ACL-injured patients.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine whether posterior tibial slope (PTS), meniscal slope (MS), and bone bruise pattern (BBP), as observed on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), differed between patients with or without medial meniscus ramp lesions at the time of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). The hypothesis was that patients with a ramp lesion had a higher PTS and MS, with a different BBP than patients without a ramp lesion. METHODS: Fifty-six patients undergoing ACLR were selected from an in-house registry and separated into 2 groups: (1) the RAMP group included patients with a primary ACLR and a medial meniscus ramp lesion diagnosed intraoperatively; (2) the CONTROL group included patients with a primary ACLR without ramp lesion after arthroscopic exploration of the posteromedial knee area. The two groups were matched for age, sex and type of concomitant meniscal lesions. The medial/lateral-PTS/MS and BBP were subjected to blinded evaluation on the preoperative MRI of the reconstructed knee. RESULTS: Twenty eight patients (21 males; 7 females) were included in each group. No significant difference could be observed between groups in terms of demographical characteristics, PTS, and MS. A posteromedial tibial plateau (PMTP) bone bruise was more often observed in the RAMP group (n = 23/28) compared to the CONTROL group (n = 12/28) (p < 0.01). The RAMP group was 6.1 (95%CI [1.8; 20.8]) times more likely to present a PMTP bone bruise. The likelihood of having a bone bruise in both the medial and lateral compartments was 4.5 (95%CI [1.2; 16.5]) times higher in the RAMP group. However, a BBP only involving the lateral tibiofemoral compartment was more likely to be observed in the CONTROL group (n = 10/28) compared to the RAMP group (n = 3/28, p < 0.05 - odds ratio 4.6 (95%CI [1.1; 19.2]). CONCLUSION: Ramp lesions were 6.1 and 4.5 times more likely to be observed in the presence of a posteromedial tibia plateau bone bruise or a combined bone bruise respectively in both the medial and lateral tibiofemoral compartment in patients undergoing ACLR. The tibial and meniscal slopes did not differ between patients with or without ramp lesions undergoing ACLR. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III.

Medial closure supracondylar femoral osteotomy: an effective solution for long-term treatment of arthritic valgus knee?

PURPOSE: The aim of this work was to retrospectively analyze the clinical, subjective, and radiological results of medial closing-wedge distal femur osteotomy (MCW-DFO) for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) in valgus knee at medium- to long-term follow-up. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 57 patients (62 knees) treated with MCW-DFO between 1984 and 2018 were included in the study. Patient age at the time of the surgery ranged between 28 and 61 years (average: 48 years). All patients with a minimum follow-up of 4 years were contacted to request for them to undergo clinical, subjective, and radiological evaluation. Preoperative hip-knee-ankle (HKA) angle (i.e., preoperative valgus malalignment) was 8.6° ± 2°. Patients were evaluated using the following scales: the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), the Knee Society Score (KSS), the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and the Numeric Rating Scale 11 (NRS-11). RESULTS: Mean follow-up was 11.6 ± 4.9 years, and a total of 17 patients (20 knees) were available for the last examination. At maximum follow-up, 4 patients underwent conversion to a total knee replacement (20%); their survival rate was 100% at 10 years and 66.7% at 15 years, as estimated using the Kaplan-Meier curve. The subjective Knee Society Score improved on average from 37.7 ± 10 to 63.9 ± 15.4. The objective Knee Society Score improved on average from 42.2 ± 11.7 to 75 ± 22.5. The pain detected through the VAS and NRS-11 scales improved from 56.7 ± 12.9 to 42 ± 17.1 and from 5.8 ± 1.1 to 4.4 ± 1.7, respectively. Thirteen patients (70%) required hardware removal at an average time of 19 ± 4 months due to a local nuisance. CONCLUSIONS: MCW-DFO can improve symptoms in patients with osteoarthritis in a valgus knee at medium- to long-term follow-up, reducing the progression of osteoarthritis in properly selected patients.

Cell-free osteochondral scaffolds provide a substantial clinical benefit in the treatment of osteochondral defects at a minimum follow-up of 5 years.

PURPOSE: The treatment of osteochondral lesions is challenging and no consensus has been established about the best option for restoring both cartilage and subchondral bone. Multilayer collagen-hydroxyapatite scaffolds have shown promising clinical results, but the outcome at a follow-up longer than 5 years still has to be proved. The aim was to evaluate the clinical outcome of patients with a knee isolated osteochondral lesion treated with a biomimetic three-layered scaffold at a minimum 5 years of follow-up. METHODS: Twenty-nine patients (23 males and 6 females, mean age 31.5 ± 11.4 years) were evaluated retrospectively before surgery, at 1 and 2 years and at last follow-up (FU). Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain, International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Subjective Score, Tegner-Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale and Tegner Activity Level Scale were collected. Mean FU was 7.8 ± 2.0 years (min 5.1 - max 11.3). The etiology of the defect was Osteochondritis Dissecans or osteonecrosis (17 vs 12 cases). RESULTS: At 12 months FU the IKDC score improved from 51.1 ± 21.7 to 80.1 ± 17.9 (p < 0.01), Tegner Lysholm Score from 59.9 ± 17.3 to 92.5 ± 9.0 (p < 0.01), VAS from 6.1 ± 2.1 to 1.7 ± 2.3 (p < 0.01) and Tegner Activity Level Scale from 1.6 ± 0.5 to 4.9 ± 1.7 (p < 0.01). The results remained stable at 24 months, while at last FU a statistically significant decrease in IKDC, Tegner Lysholm and Tegner Activity Scale was recorded, though not clinically relevant. Patients under 35 achieved statistically better outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The use of a cell-free collagen-hydroxyapatite osteochondral scaffold provides substantial clinical benefits in the treatment of knee osteochondral lesions at a minimum follow-up of 5 years, especially in patients younger than 35 years. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV.

Osteopathy in mild adrenal Cushing's syndrome and Cushing disease.

Pathophysiology and effects of endogenous glucocorticoid (GC) excess on skeletal endpoints as well as awareness and management of bone fragility are reviewed. Cushing's syndrome (CS) increase the risk of fracture affecting prevalently bone quality. Bone antiresorptive agents (SERMs, bisphosphonates and denosumab) as well as teriparatide increase bone mineral density and in some instances reduce fracture risk. Awareness and management of bone health in CS can be improved.

AMIC-Autologous Matrix-Induced Chondrogenesis Technique in Patellar Cartilage Defects Treatment: A Retrospective Study with a Mid-Term Follow-Up.

BACKGROUND: Knee cartilage defects can be retrieved in 60% of patients undergoing knee arthroscopy, especially in the patellofemoral joint. Different techniques have been proposed to treat patellar defects, although most of them are associated with short-term results. In this study Autologous Matrix Induced Chondrogenesis (AMIC), combining subchondral microfractures with a collagen membrane (type I and III collagen), was used in the treatment of isolated patellar cartilage defects. METHODS: Twenty-four patients were enrolled in this retrospective study. Subjective-International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), Visual Analog Scale for Pain (VAS), and Kujala score were collected at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery, whereas the Tegner Activity Level Scale was determined preoperatively and at final follow-up (final-FU). The same postoperative management and rehabilitation protocol was adopted for all the patients. RESULTS: Fourteen patients met the inclusion-exclusion criteria and were evaluated at a mean final-FU of 68.2 months (range 25.4-111.2). At 12 months, Kujala, IKDC, and VAS scores significantly increased in comparison to the preoperative assessment, whereas no statistically significant differences were reported between 12 months and final follow-up. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated very good results throughout the follow-up, also in sports patients. The AMIC technique, together with an adequate rehabilitation protocol, can be considered as a reliable one-step alternative for the treatment of large isolated patellar cartilage defects.

Lateral meniscal slope negatively affects post-operative anterior tibial translation at 1 year after primary anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess the correlation between posterior tibial slope and meniscal slope over postoperative anterior tibial translation during the first 18 months after primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. The main hypothesis was that PTS and MS would be positively correlated with post-operative ATT-SSD after ACL reconstruction. METHODS: Patients (28 males and 15 females) with confirmed ACL tears were selected from an in-house registry and included if they were over 16 years old, had primary ACL-reconstruction and healthy contralateral knee. Patients meeting one of the following criteria were excluded: previous knee surgeries, intraarticular fractures, associated ligamentous lesions, previous or concomitant meniscectomy or extraarticular procedures. Lateral posterior tibial slope, medial posterior tibial slope, lateral meniscal slope and medial meniscal slope were measured using preoperative MRIs. The side-to-side-difference in anterior tibial translation was evaluated 9-18 months postoperatively. RESULTS: Forty-three patients were included, (28 males/15 females; mean age 25 ± 8 years). Mean postoperative anterior tibial translation was 1.0 ± 1.1 mm at a mean time of 12 ± 1 months. Mean slope values were: lateral posterior tibial slope 4.7° ± 2.2°, medial posterior tibial slope 4.0° ± 2.8°, lateral meniscal slope 3.0° ± 2.2° and medial meniscal slope 2.0° ± 2.8°. The anterior tibial translation was significantly correlated with lateral meniscal slope (r = 0.63; p < 0.01). For each 1° increase in lateral meniscal slope, a 0.3 mm 95% CI [0.2, 0.4] (p < 0.01) increase in anterior tibial translation was observed. A lateral meniscal slope greater or equal to 4.0° was estimated as optimal threshold for increased risk of abnormal side-to-side difference in postoperative anterior tibial translation (≥ 1.2 mm). CONCLUSION: The lateral meniscal slope was positively correlated to side-to-side difference in anterior tibial translation after primary ACL reconstruction. A lateral meniscal slope greater or equal to 4.0° was detected as threshold for an increased risk of abnormal side-to-side difference in postoperative anterior tibial translation in patients who underwent primary ACL reconstruction. This confirms that soft tissue slopes have an impact on the outcomes after reconstructive surgery. Level of evidence III.

Use of an Elastomeric Knee Brace in Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome: Short-Term Results.

Purpose This article verifies the effectiveness of a new brace on patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) in adjunct to a specifically developed rehabilitation program. Methods Two groups of 30 patients with PFPS were prospectively and randomly allocated to a rehabilitation protocol, with (group A) or without (group B) the use of a specific brace. All the patients were assessed at 3, 6, and 12 months using the disease-specific Kujala scale and a visual analog scale (VAS) for pain; time to return to sport and patient satisfaction with the brace were also recorded. Results Kujala scale's values showed constant and progressive improvement. The mean score at 6 months was 79.8 ± 6.8 points in group A and 76.8 ± 8.6 in group B, rising at 12 months to 80.9 ± 7.5 in group A and 78.4 ± 8.3 in group B. VAS scores significantly differed ( p < 0.05) between the two groups at both 6 and 12 months; the score recorded at 12 months was 0.9 ± 1.3 in the brace-treated group and 1.8 ± 1.6 in the controls. The patients who used a brace showed a quicker return to sports and 75% of the patients in this group were satisfied. Conclusion All the scores improved progressively in both groups. The most significant improvement concerned pain, showing that the brace used in this study may allow a better subjective outcome and a quicker return to sport. Level of Evidence Level II, prospective randomized controlled trial.

Suture Anchors Fixation in MPFL Reconstruction using a Bioactive Synthetic Ligament.

Medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction has a key role in patellofemoral instability surgery. Many surgical techniques have been described so far using different types of grafts (autologous, heterologous, or synthetic) and fixation techniques. The hereby described technique for MPFL reconstruction relies on the use of a biosynthetic graft (LARS Arc Sur Tille, France). Fixation is obtained by means of suture anchors on the patellar side and a resorbable interference screw on the femoral side locating the insertion point according to Schottle et al. An early passive range of motion (ROM) recovery is fundamental to reduce the risk of postoperative stiffness; a partial weight bearing with crutches is allowed until 6 weeks after the surgery. In our experience, the use of a biosynthetic graft and suture anchors provides stable fixation, minimizing donor site morbidity and reducing the risk of patellar fracture associated with transosseous tunnels. This technique represents a reliable and reproducible alternative for MPFL reconstruction, thereby minimizing the risk of possible complications.