Comparison of repair techniques in small and medium-sized rotator cuff tears in cadaveric sheep shoulders.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare new knotless single-row and double-row suture anchor techniques with traditional transosseous suture techniques for different sized rotator cuff tears in an animal model. METHODS: The study included 56 cadaveric sheep shoulders. Supraspinatus cuff tears of 1 cm repaired with new knotless single-row suture anchor technique and supraspinatus and infraspinatus rotator cuff tears of 3 cm repaired with double-row suture anchor technique were compared to traditional transosseous suture techniques and control groups. The repaired tendons were loaded with 5 mm/min static velocity with 2.5 kgN load cell in Instron 8874 machine until the repair failure. RESULTS: The 1 cm transosseous group was statistically superior to 1 cm control group (p=0.021, p<0.05) and the 3 cm SpeedBridge group was statistically superior to the 1 cm SpeedFix group (p=0.012, p<0.05). The differences between the other groups were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: No significant difference was found between the new knotless suture anchor techniques and traditional transosseous suture techniques.

A glomus tumor anterior to the patellar tendon: a case report.

Glomus tumors are benign neoplasms originating from the glomus body. They are most frequently found in the nail bed of the hands, and their occurrence in other parts of the body is rare. A 75-year-old man presented with left anterior knee pain of 30-year history, that became more intense with light touch or clothing and increased in severity despite medical treatment. Physical examination showed a painful, soft, mobile, red-purple colored mass, 2 x 2 cm in size, at the inferior border of the patella. Plain radiographs showed no pathology other than mild degenerative changes. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a mass lesion, 1.5 x 1.1 x 2 cm in size, located at the anterior border of the patellar tendon, which showed hypointensity on T1A-weighted sequences and hyperintensity on T2-weighted sequences and T2-weighted sequences with fat saturation. The mass was excised and the histopathological diagnosis was reported as glomangioma. Postoperatively, the patient had no complaint of pain and no recurrence was observed during a two-year follow-up.

Non-tuberculous thoracic and lumbar spondylodiscitis: single-stage anterior debridement and reconstruction, combined with posterior instrumentation and grafting.

Debridement is warranted for the treatment of nontuberculous spondylodiscitis in case of neurological compromise, deformity, instability, abscess formation, extensive destruction, intractable pain or failure of medical management. The additional use of instrumentation is still controversial, but might fight infection and yield stability. The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the outcome of 16 cases of non-tuberculous thoracic or lumbar spondylodiscitis treated with anterior debridement and reconstruction (tricortical graft or titanium mesh cage), combined with single-stage posterior instrumentation and grafting. The pathogens identified were: Brucella (5), coagulase-negative Staphylococcus aureus (4), Staphylococcus aureus (3), unidentified (4). All 16 infections resolved without recurrence. Bony union was obtained in all cases. Fourteen out of 16 patients (87.5%) were completely relieved of pain and fully active, an excellent result according to Macnab's criteria; the other two patients obtained a good result. All 7 patients who had a neurological deficit improved. There were two superficial infections, which healed with debridement and antibiotics. A single iliac vein injury was primarily repaired. In conclusion, the proposed technique is an effective and safe treatment for pyogenic spondylodiscitis, if surgery is mandatory.