Dermal burns associated with bipolar radiofrequency ablation in the subacromial space.

This article presents iatrogenic dermal burn injury as a complication of using a vented bipolar radiofrequency (RF) ablative device in shoulder arthroscopy. We have encountered 4 patients who have sustained second-degree skin burns after shoulder arthroscopy. The burns occurred from arthroscopic shoulder surgeries performed from 2004 to 2008. In each case a vented bipolar RF device was used to help perform a subacromial decompression. The burns appeared to be the result of heated effluent from the outflow tubing of the RF device exposed to the skin of the patients. This case report shows that care should be taken to avoid exposing patients to the elevated temperatures of bipolar RF device effluent to reduce the risk of dermal burn injury.

Incidence of venous thromboembolic disease following hip arthroscopy.

Venous thromboembolic disease is a known complication of orthopedic surgery. Hip arthroscopy is a technically demanding procedure with a significant learning curve and low reported complication rate. Few reports document the incidence of venous thromboembolic disease following hip arthroscopy. Our hypothesis was that the incidence of venous thromboembolic disease following hip arthroscopy was comparable to that reported for knee arthroscopy. Eighty-one consecutive patients undergoing hip arthroscopy were retrospectively reviewed. All patients underwent standard diagnostic hip arthroscopy under traction of the operative leg against a well-padded perineal post. All procedures were performed on an outpatient basis. Three of 81 patients (3.7%) developed a clinically symptomatic venous thromboembolic disease in the postoperative period. The diagnosis was suspected clinically and confirmed with the use of a Doppler ultrasound. No patient developed symptomatic pulmonary emboli. One patient used oral contraceptives and 2 had no known risk factors for venous thromboembolic disease. All patients were successfully treated with anticoagulation. This is the first study to document multiple occurrences of venous thromboembolic disease following hip arthroscopy. This study demonstrated the incidence of symptomatic venous thromboembolic disease after hip arthroscopy to be 3.7%. Further study investigation is warranted regarding the incidence of symptomatic and asymptomatic venous thromboembolic disease following hip arthroscopy.