Perioperative complications of using freezing nitrogen ethanol composite to treat bone tumors: Clinical experience from a single center.

BACKGROUND: The cryoablation efficacy of semisolid freezing nitrogen ethanol composite (FNEC) has been demonstrated. We aimed to investigate the feasibility of adjuvant FNEC-assisted cryoablation in different bone cavity types by assessing the perioperative complication rates. METHODS: The medical charts of patients who received intraoperative adjuvant cryoablation using semisolid FNEC for bone tumors from December 2013 to January 2018 were reviewed. The bone cavities were categorized into three types according to liquid spill potential (type 1, able to hold liquid without limb manipulation; type 2, required extensive limb manipulation to retain liquid; type 3, unable to retain liquid). The overall complication rate and the complication rates stratified by bone cavity type were determined. RESULTS: Among the 76 patients, 30.3%, 57.9%, and 11.8% had type 1, 2, and 3 bone cavities, respectively. The mean follow-up time for perioperative complications was 43.5 ± 24.1 days. Five patients experienced complications, including two cases of skin damage, two cases of skin infection, and one case of fracture, yielding an overall perioperative complication rate of 6.4%. All cases of skin damage and skin infection were superficial and manageable by oral antibiotics. The patient with a pathologic fracture recovered well after being treated with open reduction and plate fixation. No neuropraxia was noted within the first few days postsurgery in any patient. The complication rates in type 1, 2, and 3 bone cavities were 13%, 4.6%, and 0%, respectively. CONCLUSION: All bone cavity types had a low incidence of perioperative complications after treatment with adjuvant FNEC-assisted cryoablation. Semisolid FNEC-assisted cryoablation is a feasible alternative to overcome the liquid spill potential in bone cavities resulting from tumor resection and intralesional curettage.

Comparison of recycled autograft versus allograft in osteosarcoma with pathological fracture.

PURPOSE: The recycled autograft in biological reconstruction for osteosarcoma has satisfactory outcome. There are few studies about its efficacy in pathological fracture. The aim of the study is to compare the clinical results of recycled autograft to those of allograft in patients with high-grade osteosarcoma with pathological fracture. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between October 2010 and March 2018, 30 patients with osteosarcoma combining pathological fracture underwent biological reconstruction. Eleven patients received recycled autograft via extracorporeal irradiation or freezing nitrogen and nineteen patients restored bone defect via allograft to accomplish biological reconstruction. RESULTS: The mean follow-up was 58.1 months (range 12-120). The mean time to graft-host union of limbs reconstructed using recycled autografts and allografts was 17.45 ± 13.54 and 12.63 ± 12.62 months, respectively, with no significant difference observed between groups (p = 0.176). The five year probability of graft failure therefore did not significantly differ between groups (p = 0.245). The patient five year survival rate was similar (p = 0.229). Post-operative complication rates were similar for the recycled autograft group (54.5%) and the allograft group (57.9%). CONCLUSION: The recycled autograft showed comparable clinical results, graft-host union time, complication rate, and graft survival to allograft in biological reconstruction for osteosarcoma with pathological fracture.

Cementation of the highly cross-linked polyethylene liner into a well-fixed acetabular shell to treat patients with recurrent dislocation after total hip arthroplasty.

Cementation of a highly cross-linked polyethylene liner into a well-fixed acetabular shell provided a good durability for liner wear. However, its efficacy in treating recurrent instability due to malposition cup is less reported. The aim of this study is to evaluate the outcome of this surgical technique to treat hip instability. From 2009 to 2019, we have identified 38 patients who had been surgically treated for recurrent instability, including cementation liner (N = 20) and revision cup (N = 18) procedures. Patients were followed for a mean of 45.66 months. We have recorded and analyzed all causes of implant failure including recurrent instability. Clinical outcomes were assessed including complication and Harris Hip Score (HHS) preoperatively and at the latest follow-up. Revision-free survivorship for any cause was 95.0% at 1 year, and 84.4% at 5 years in cementation liner group and 88.9% at 1 year and 5 years in revision cup group. Mean Harris hip score improved from 48.3 points preoperatively to 79.5 points at the last follow-up in cementation liner group and mean HHS improved from 43.3 points preoperatively to 77.2 points in revision cup group. There were two implant failures in each group, including one is due to persistent hip instability and the other is due to periprosthetic joint infection in the cementation liner group and two implant failure are due to persistent hip instability in the revision cup group. Functional scores and implant survival were similar in both groups. We demonstrated that orientation correction via the cementation of the polyethylene liner into well-fixed acetabular shell is a promising option to treat and prevent instability. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level IV.

Adjuvant therapy by high-speed burr may cause intraoperative bone tumor seeding: an animal study.

BACKGROUND: Bone tumors are often treated with intralesional curettage. High-speed burring, an adjuvant therapy, was performed to maximize the tumor cell killing; however, tumor recurrence might still occur, which may be caused by residual tumor or local tumor spread during surgery. METHODS: A porcine cadaver (femur) was utilized to determine whether the use of a high-speed burr causes bone cement spray. To mimic residual tumor after curettage, luminescent cement was smeared on two locations of the bone cavity, the wall and the bottom. The cavity in the femoral bone was then placed in the middle of a sheet of drawing paper featuring 10 cm, 20 cm, and 30 cm concentric circles. The luminescent cement was then burred totally with a high-speed burr. RESULTS: The intensity of the area in the wall in circle I was 72.6% ± 5.8%; within circle II, it was 22.1% ± 4.2%; and within circle III, it was 5.4% ± 1.5%. The intensity of the area within the bottom of the femoral bone within circle I was 66.5% ± 6.1%, within circle II was 28.1 ± 4.8%, and within circle III, it was 5.4% ± 1.4%. The amount of luminescent cement seeding decreased with distance, but there was no difference while burring at different locations of the bone cavity. Under the handpiece cover, a greater amount of cement spray was retained in circle I during burring of the cement in the bottom of the cavity and less was sprayed out in circle III. CONCLUSIONS: High-speed burring may cause explosive bone cement spray, which could extend to 20 cm. The intensities of spray did not decrease, even when the handpiece cover was used. The wide range of bone cement spray caused by high-speed burr was inspected in this pilot study, which may lead to tumor seeding. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV, therapeutic study. See Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Recurrence rate of the Paine retinaculotome carpal tunnel release in diabetic and non-diabetic patients at long-term follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Carpal tunnel release (CTR) is considered effective in treating carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), and diabetes is considered to complicate the outcome and recovery. However, the difference in recurrence rate between diabetic and non-diabetic patients after mini-open CTR in the long-term has not yet determined. METHODS: This study enrolled 1251 wrists (1091 patients), with 841 (67%) females and 480 (33%) males at a mean age of 58.5 years at operation. Patients were followed for a mean duration of 10.5 years. We retrospectively compared the recurrence rates of the Paine retinaculotome for mini-open CTR at wrist in diabetic and non-diabetic patients. RESULTS: In our study, a total of 161 wrists (13%) were in the diabetic patients and 1090 wrists (87%) were in the non-diabetic patients. Two wrists (1.24%) in the diabetic group and seven (0.6%) in the non-diabetic group exhibited recurrence (p = 0.325). CONCLUSION: The mini-open CTR with the Paine retinaculotome in diabetic patients didn't show significantly higher recurrence rate than that in non-diabetic patients in the long term.