Treatment of Post-traumatic Osteonecrosis in the Distal Tibia With Autologous Bone Grafting: A Case Report.

Osteonecrosis is a disruption of blood supply to the bone which results in bone cell death. Post-traumatic osteonecrosis of distal tibia rarely happens as compared to osteonecrosis which affects other parts of the musculoskeletal system. We report a case of osteonecrosis of distal tibia in an adult male following an open fracture dislocation of the right ankle. Initial surgery of wound debridement with a temporary external fixator was performed for ankle stabilization. The patient underwent internal fixation once the subcutaneous tissue was deemed suitable. A year later, he had worsening ankle pain which affected his daily activities. Magnetic resonance imaging showed osteonecrosis of the distal tibia, osteochondral injury of the medial tibial plafond, and medial talus with lateral ligament complex injuries. Autologous iliac bone grafting was applied to the distal tibia and a cell-free hyaluronic acid-based scaffold (Hyalofast®) was used to address the bone osteonecrosis and osteochondral injury respectively. Visual analog score (VAS), AOFAS hindfoot score, and ankle range of motion improved at three months and significantly increased after six months and one year post-operatively.

Safety of wide-awake local anesthesia with no tourniquet (WALANT) in for lower limb surgery: A potential alternative in times of emergency.

Lower limb surgery is usually performed under general or regional anaesthesia in normal operating room setting. However, when the surgery need to be performed in situations where there are limited resources and equipment, especially during a pandemic outbreak, in battlefields or area of disaster occurrence, the wide-awake local anaesthesia no tourniquet (WALANT) surgery can be utilised. This study aims to assess the efficacy of performing lower limb surgery using WALANT technique. A randomised cross-sectional study was designed to assess the effectiveness of WALANT in lower limb surgery, particularly in terms of duration of anaesthesia, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), pain visual analogue scale (VAS), duration of surgery, amount of estimated blood loss (EBL) and total length of stay (LOS). A total of 91 patients requiring lower limb surgery were recruited, with only 83 patients completed the VAS pain assessment for all time points of the study. Mean age of patients was 52.1 ± 14.9 years. Mean VAS score were 1.19 ± 1.53 and 1.46 ± 1.86, preoperatively and intraoperatively. Mean VAS score were 0.55 ± 1.52, 0.60 ± 1.41, and 1.06 ± 1.69 at 2, 4, and 6 h post-surgery, respectively. Majority (79; 86.8%) of patient has preoperative anxiety score that was <17. Mean surgery duration was 65.28 ± 39.02 min, mean EBL was 91.34 ± 78.94 cc, whereas mean LOS was 3.35 ± 1.16 days. EBL was a weak predictor of postoperative pain. In conclusion, WALANT technique for lower limb surgery is effective and safe.

Osteochondral Injury of the Talus Treated With Cell-Free Hyaluronic Acid-Based Scaffold (Hyalofast®) - A Reliable Solution.

BACKGROUND: Osteochondral injuries commonly occur in load-bearing joints, mainly caused by traumatic incidents that can lead to detachment of the cartilage fragment either partial or complete. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to review the long-term outcome of osteochondral injury of the talus treated with a cell-free hyaluronic acid-based scaffold (Hyalofast®, Anika Therapeutics Inc., Bedford, Massachusetts, USA). METHOD: This study evaluated the data of seven patients who underwent medial malleolus osteotomy, microfracture, and cell-free hyaluronic acid-based scaffold (HYALOFAST®) insertion between 2015 to 2018. All patients had an osteochondral lesion (OCL) grade III and IV of the talus based on Dipaola classification due to trauma. They were followed up for at least two years and assessed by the short form 36 health survey questionnaire (SF36) for both physical functioning and mental health, American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) scoring system, and visual analog scale (VAS). RESULT: All patients were satisfied in terms of physical function, mental health, and pain after one month of surgery (p-value<0.05). There was also an improvement in AOFAS hindfoot and VAS scores from preoperative to postoperative. No complications were noted in the surgical site or bone union. CONCLUSION: Medial malleolus osteotomy, cell-free hyaluronic acid-based scaffold (HYALOFAST®) grafting, and microfracture are considered relatively easy techniques that are a good choice for patients with sizeable cartilage deficiency and provide a good functional outcome.

Outcome of Pantalar Fusion With Femoral Head Allograft in Avascular Necrosis of Talus.

Background: Avascular necrosis (AVN) of the talus is a challenging condition that is caused primarily by trauma. The severity of the talus fracture determines the risk of AVN. Severe osteonecrosis with the loss of talar integrity can be treated with arthrodesis and structural bone graft. Method: This study shows the experience of pantalar arthrodesis using hindfoot arthrodesis nail, screw fixation, and femoral head allograft in four patients. Result: All patients were satisfied in terms of pain and function after an average of 4 months postsurgery. Limb length discrepancy was <1 cm and hindfoot fusion was achieved by 3 months. The mean score for SF-36 physical function and AOFAS hindfoot score at a 2-year postpantalar arthrodesis was 88 and 80.8, respectively. Conclusion: Hindfoot ankle arthrodesis, with the usage of femoral head allograft, can be successfully used for the treatment of traumatic AVN of talus.