Triceps Surae Contracture: Implications for Foot and Ankle Surgery

Pelvic congestion syndrome: Early clinical results after transcatheter ovarian vein embolization

Re: A New Robot for Flexible Ureteroscopy: Development and Early Clinical Results (IDEAL Stage 1-2b)

Anesthesia for ankle and foot surgery

The basic perineural catheter design has changed minimally since inception, with the catheter introduced through or over a straight needle. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently cleared a novel perineural catheter design comprising a catheter attached to the back of a suture-shaped needle that is inserted, advanced along the arc of its curvature pulling the catheter past the target nerve, and then exited through the skin in a second location. The authors hypothesized that analgesia would be noninferior using the new versus traditional catheter design in the first two days after painful foot/ankle surgery with a primary outcome of average pain measured with the Numeric Rating Scale. Subjects undergoing painful foot or ankle surgery with a continuous supraparaneural popliteal-sciatic nerve block 5 cm proximal to the bifurcation were randomized to either a suture-type or through-the-needle catheter and subsequent 3-day 0.2% ropivacaine infusion (basal 6 ml/h, bolus 4 ml, lockout 30 min). Subjects received daily follow-up for the first four days after surgery, including assessment for evidence of malfunction or dislodgement of the catheters. During the first two postoperative days the mean ± SD average pain scores were lower in subjects with the suture-catheter (n = 35) compared with the through-the-needle (n = 35) group (2.7 ± 2.4 vs. 3.4 ± 2.4) and found to be statistically noninferior (95% CI, -1.9 to 0.6; P < 0.001). No suture-style catheter was completely dislodged (0%), whereas the tips of three (9%) traditional catheters were found outside of the skin before purposeful removal on postoperative day 3 (P = 0.239). Suture-type perineural catheters provided noninferior analgesia compared with traditional catheters for continuous popliteal-sciatic blocks after painful foot and ankle surgery. The new catheter design appears to be a viable alternative to traditional designs used for the past seven decades.

BackgroundA large number of studies have shown that BIMA grafting is superior to single internal mammary artery grafting in cardiac function protection and long-term survival after surgery. While, there is still no consensus on how is the best configuration to use BIMA. This study aims to compare intraoperative blood flow, early clinical results and early postoperative patency of different configurations of BIMA.MethodsThere were 74 patients who underwent CABGs with bilateral internal mammary artery with different configurations we included. According to the different target territories that RIMA grafted to, the patients were divided into bilateral group (group I) with 20 cases and left group (group II) with 54 cases. Intraoperative blood flow, early clinical results and early postoperative patency of different configurations of BIMA were compared.ResultsThere was no difference in the early postoperative death and major complications between group I and Group II(P>0.05). Compared with the LIMA in group II, the LIMA in group I had a slightly higher DF value (76.7 ± 6.2 vs 73.1 ± 6.8, P = 0.040). Compared with the RIMA in group II, the RIMA in group I had a slightly higher MGF (51.7 ± 34.4 ml/min vs 31.4 ± 21.4 ml/min, P = 0.024). There was no difference in the other TTFM parameters of LIMA and RIMA between group I and Group II(P>0.05). Further subgroup analysis revealed that compared with free RIMA in group II, in situ RIMA had a higher DF value (71.4 ± 7.8 vs 61.8 ± 18.1,P = 0.025). The PI of LIMA in free RIMA subgroup was higher than the PI of LIMA in in-situ RIMA subgroup (3.0 ± 1.6 vs 2.1 ± 1.0,P = 0.018). The results of early postoperative CTA examination showed that all IMAs grafts were completely patent.ConclusionsThe use of BIMA for CABG is safe and efficacious, RIMA used in right coronary artery received more satisfactory graft flow. BIMA with no stenosis and occlusion in the early stage, therefore is the ideal and stable coronary bypass graft.

Aims and Objectives: The purpose was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of patients with knee osteoarthritis treated with bicompartmental arthroplasty (BKA) in comparison to unicompartmental (UKA), patellofemoral (PFA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in a single center. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective study analyzing a consecutive series of 396 patients from two surgeons in a single center. In 191 men and 205 women either partial or total knee replacement were performed. Their mean age at surgery was 63±6,85 years and mean BMI 29,55±5,00 kg/m2. In 238 patients UKA, in 125 TKA, in 21 PFA and in 11 patients BKA was performed. Implants were cemented and made of cobalt chrome in partial knee and zirconium oxide in total knee replacement. Demographics and patient reported outcomes (VAS, KOOS, Oxford Knee Score (OKS)) were collected preoperatively and 3,6 and 12 months postoperatively. A total of 202 patients have thus far completed the 12 months follow-up time point. Results: All mean KOOS and OKS scores improved significantly 1 year after surgery (p&lt;0.05). Mean preoperative aggregated KOOS improved from 49,0±14,1 to 74,3±17,8 in UKA, from 44,1±12,9 to 67,5±9,4 in PFA, from 46,1±15,1 to 71,0±14,8 in TKA and from 45,7±13,8 to 72,6±9,7 in BKA (p&lt;0.05). Mean preoperative aggregated OKS improved from 25,1±7,6) to 38,5±9,7 in UKA, from 23,0±7,6 to 36,8±3,8 in PFA, from 23,4±8,2 to 37,3±8,1 in TKA and from 22,9±9,6 to 37,0±1,5 in BKA (p&lt;0.05). The mean pain level (VAS)decreased from pre-treatment to 12 months after surgery in UKA from 5,5 to 1,6, in PFA from 6,1 to 2,5, in TKA from 6,0 to 1,9 and in BKA from 6,6 to 2,6. One patient (0.4%) underwent revision (at 3 month for inlay dislocation). Conclusion: This study shows excellent early clinical results of patients treated with unicompartmental, bicompartmental and total knee arthroplasty. Adherence to strict indications lead to a significant improvement of patient reported outcomes and a low revision rate one year postoperatively. The reported results for BKA are comparable to those of patients treated with unicompartmental arthroplasty. We conclude that bicompartmental arthroplasty is a safe and reliable surgery for patients with bicompartmental osteoarthritis.

Background Open ankle arthrodesis has been the standard operative treatment for any case of advanced osteoarthritis ankle, but the arthroscopic technique is gained popularity. Patients methods This study was conducted retrospectively reviewing surgeries undertaken between January 2010 and June 2012 for ankles with osteoarthritis. The authors performed 42 ankle arthrodesis procedures on 42 patients. A total of 20 patients were included in group A (arthroscopic ankle fusion), and the other 22 patients were in group B (open anterior ankle fusion). Patients of each group were assessed using preoperative Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale (AOS) score; both the pain and disability components were used to calculate the total score. Results In group A, all the cases were united, with the average time for union being 12.8±1.19 weeks. Of 20 ankles, 65% showed signs of clinical and radiological union by 12 weeks. The early results showed major decrease in AOS from 116±8.6 preoperatively to 19.4±2.3 postoperatively. This shows that the arthroscopic fusion was able to decrease the score by an average of 97.7±10.2 points. Long-term follow-up was 71.8±8.6 months and showed that the early postoperative results did not change significantly: 55% of patients still had excellent outcome, and four patients (20%) develop subtalar osteoarthritis. In group B, 21 cases (&gt;95%) were united, with an average time to union of 13.3±5.6 weeks. The early results showed major decrease in AOS from 114±7.24 preoperatively to 26.68±6.95 postoperatively. This shows that the open anterior fusion was able to decrease the score by an average of 88.2±7.2 points. Long-term follow up was 83.5±12 months and showed that the early postoperative results changed significantly, where nine patients (40.9%) still had excellent outcome, and nine patients (40.9%) developed subtalar osteoarthritis and four of them needed further subtalar fusion. Conclusion This was a comparative study that involved two groups with two techniques of ankle fusion, showing early and late results. There was no significant difference between both the groups regarding early results, but long-term follow-up clarifies the advantages of arthroscopic fusion technique.

MRI Imaging Strategies for the Lower Extremities

The purpose of this study was to analyse the extent of surgical correction and the early clinical results obtained using periacetabular osteotomy with allogenic bone grafting in patients with severe acetabular dysplasia. 44 hips in 38 patients were confirmed to have severe acetabular dysplasia and underwent this procedure. The mean follow-up period was 4.2 (range 1.5-8.2) years. Severe acetabular dysplasia was defined as a centre-edge angle less than 0°, an acetabular-head index less than 50% and an acetabular roof obliquity greater than 30°. Periacetabular osteotomy was performed with transpositional osteotomy of the acetabulum. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to the radiographic appearance: 34 hips in the early stage group and 10 hips in the advanced stage group. Postoperatively, the hips were radiographically assessed for dysplasia correction. The clinical results and hip function were measured using the Harris Hip Score. The average preoperative Harris Hip Score improved from 70 to 91 points at the latest follow-up. The average centre-edge angle, acetabular-head index and acetabular roof obliquity improved from -9° to 36°, 41% to 91% and 31° to 2°, respectively. Continuity of the Shenton line improved from 15 to 35 hips. No instances of nonunion or of transported segment collapse were encountered in this series; however, a grafted allogenic bone was absorbed in 1 case. The usage of allogenic bone grafting combined with periacetabular osteotomy is an effective technique for treating severe acetabular dysplasia. In this series, the early clinical and radiographic results were excellent.

Category: Other Introduction/Purpose: The management of pain in patients with foot and ankle pain can be challenging. Cumulative data suggest that, in addition to nociceptive mechanisms, other neuropathic mechanisms can contribute to pain in a subset of people with osteoarthritis. Neuropathic mechanism include central sensitization or peripheral neuropathic hyper activated pain. Heterogeneous pain mechanisms may explain variable responses to recommended pain therapies. Accurate classification of pain phenotype using clinically feasible tools has potential to improve pain management. The PainDETECT score, a validated patient-report questionnaire was developed to identify neuropathic pain. A recent study found a prevalence of 23% of neuropathic pain following ORIF of Ankle fractures. The purpose of this study is to examine the prevalence of neuropathic pain (NP) in a variety of foot and ankle disorders. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study investigating the prevalence of NP in a population of patients undergoing foot and ankle surgery. The patient cohort will include 500 patients. Patients were prospectively reviewed, prior to their surgery, using a patient-self-report questionnaire (painDETECT). Patients’ demographics, diagnosis, comorbidities and functional scores were also prospectively collected. painDETECT score of less than 13 was considered as Nociceptive, score of more than 18 was considered as Neuropathic. Scores of 12 to 18 were considered as Unclear. ANOVA and Student’s t-tests were performed to compare the pain VAS scores, duration of pain prior to surgery, severity of the disease and the prevalence of NP, and among different foot and ankle procedures (bone versus tissue, elective versus trauma) and procedural regions (hindfoot/ankle, midfoot, forefoot). Results: A total of 116 patients were included in this preliminary study. 9 patients (7.7%) were diagnosed with neuropathic pain and 24 (20.6%) were Unclear according to their results in the painDETECT. There were 28 patients scheduled for surgery due to recent trauma, none of which had neuropathic pain. One patient with neuropathic pain was scheduled for excision of Morton’s neuroma and 2 patients for removal of foreign body or hardware. There was no significant correlation with age, BMI or smoking status nor with the patients’ functional scores. Patients with NP described their worst and current level of pain significantly higher than those with nociceptive pain. (9.4 Vs 7.4 for worst pain and 6.9 Vs 4.6 for current level in a scale from 0-10, p-value&lt;0.05). Conclusion: A considerable number of the patients with foot and ankle problems requiring surgeries also has pain of a neuropathic mechanism. It is more common in chronic pain than in trauma. This should be evaluated pre-op and taken into attention when deciding on a surgical intervention or pain management.

Currently, there are three distinct mechanistic classes of antiretrovirals: inhibitors of the HIV- 1 reverse transcriptase and protease enzymes and inhibitors of HIV entry, including receptor and coreceptor binding and cell fusion. A new drug class that inhibits the HIV-1 integrase enzyme (IN) is in development and may soon be available in the clinic. IN is an attractive drug target because it is essential for a stable and productive HIV-1 infection and there is no mammalian homologue of IN. Inhibitors of integrase enzyme (INI) block the integration of viral double-stranded DNA into the host cell's chromosomal DNA. HIV-1 integration has many potential steps that can be inhibited and several new compounds that target specific integration steps have been identified by drug developers. Recently, two INIs, GS-9137 and MK-0518, demonstrated promising early clinical trial results and have been advanced into later stage trials. In this review, we describe how IN facilitates HIV-1 integration, the needed enzyme cofactors, and the resultant byproducts created during integration. Furthermore, we review the different INIs under development, their mechanism of actions, site of IN inhibition, potency, resistance patterns, and discuss the early clinical trial results.

Intraoperative Peripheral Rotary Atherectomy: Early and Late Clinical Results

Review of early clinical results and complications associated with oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF)

Forearm supination contractures can occur as a result of neurological derangement of the upper extremity in patients with neonatal brachial plexus birth palsy. The contractures become problematic in childhood as patients begin requiring forearm pronation for activities of daily living including typing on a keyboard and writing. There have been several techniques described to remedy this deformity. We present a case series describing the early clinical results of combined radial osteotomy and intraosseous biceps rerouting to realign the forearm in resting pronation and convert the biceps from a supinator to a pronator. A retrospective review identified patients who had a radial osteotomy and biceps rerouting for supination contracture between 2006 and 2016. Inclusion criteria required a fixed forearm supination contracture, patients below 18 years of age and at least 1 year of clinical and radiographic follow-up. Demographic and surgical variables, early clinical results, complications, reoperations, and revisions were documented. Twenty patients were identified who met inclusion criteria. The mean follow-up was 3 years (range, 1 to 9 y). We observed a statistically significant difference in the mean resting position of the forearm from 56 degrees of supination preoperatively to 17 degrees of pronation postoperatively. Correspondingly, there was an increase in passive forearm pronation from 0 degree preoperatively to 66 degrees postoperatively and an expected decrease in passive forearm supination from 78 degrees preoperatively to 41 degrees postoperatively. There were 2 complications which were both radial osteotomy nonunions. Excluding revisions, there were 14 reoperations in 14 patients (63%) for hardware removal. Hardware removal was considered an expected return to the operating room, not an unplanned reoperation. There were 2 revisions for osteotomy nonunion, both of which went on to eventual union. Overall survivorship from the need for revision surgery was 95% at 12 months, 88% at 24 months, and 88% at 60 months. There were no recurrences of the supination contracture. We present results of a novel surgical solution to forearm supination contractures through the combination of a derotational osteotomy of the radius and biceps tendon rerouting. The results show a significant benefit in forearm positioning and passive pronation with excellent survivorship and maintenance of correction. Level IV-therapeutic.

Due to its modular design, the Activ-L total disc replacement (B. Braun/Aesculap, Tuttlingen, Germany) allows for a flexible anchoring concept either with spikes or one or two keels. It has a semiconstraint design which allows for some movement of a UHMWPE inlay. The minimal invasive surgical technique is highly standardized. Early clinical results are comparable to established disc-replacement devices. Aim of the surgery is lasting pain relief and complete restauration of segmental mobility without affection of adjacent motion segments. Mono- or multisegmental lumbar disc degeneration leading to low-back pain, refractory to conservative treatment. Infections of vertebra or disc-space, fractures, prior fusion surgery of the affected motion segments, malignancy, osteoporosis, metabolic bone disease, severe conditions affecting general health, conditions prohibitive for anterior abdominal surgery, unclear or non-discogenic low-back-pain. Minimal-invasive anterior approach to the lumbar spine, removal of nucleus and cartilagenous endplates, sizing with trial implant, decision about spike or keel anchoring concept, implantation of prosthesis, x ray-control, wound closure. Bed-rest for 6 hours, stabilizing physiotherapy 3 weeks postoperative. Level-3 evidence shows early clinical results comparable with published data from previous implants, particle wear of inlay is significantly lower, possibly due to different testing protocols.