Publications by authors named "Eric Wall"

Background: Postoperative knee arthrofibrosis after arthroscopic ligament reconstruction is a serious complication. Among adolescents, risk factors for postoperative arthrofibrosis are not well characterized and the effectiveness of early manipulation under anesthesia (MUA) is not well established.

Purposes: To identify risk factors for arthrofibrosis after arthroscopic knee ligament reconstruction in adolescent patients and to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of early MUA.

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Background: Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) of the knee is a focal idiopathic alteration of subchondral bone and/or its precursor with risk for instability and disruption of adjacent cartilage. Treatment options focused on preventing premature osteoarthritis vary depending on multiple patient and lesion characteristics, including lesion mobility.

Purpose: To differentiate lesion mobility before arthroscopy using a multivariable model that includes patient demographic characteristics and physical examination findings.

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: The most published surgical technique for fixating Type 4 (Salter-Harris II) tibial tubercle avulsion fractures is uni-cortical in nature, and stability is suboptimal. This study presents a technique modification that is consistent with AO principles, by which the screws are aimed distally to purchase the posterior cortex of the distal fragment. This technique is defined as a "Distal Cortical Fixation".

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Article Synopsis
  • Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) affects the osteochondral junction, leading to unstable bone fragments and disrupted cartilage, causing chronic knee pain primarily in children and young adults.
  • The literature mostly discusses OCD in the medial femoral condyle (MFC), but unclear terminology related to patients' skeletal maturity complicates diagnosis and treatment options.
  • This article explores the MFC OCD's pathophysiology, the significance of imaging techniques, and includes a case study connecting imaging findings to the ROCK classification for better management of the condition.*
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Background: Most healthcare providers utilize magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assist in diagnosing and treating osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) of the capitellum. However, consensus on imaging features that portend clinically relevant information in the care of these lesions has not been determined.

Purpose: To conduct a survey on the MRI features of a capitellar OCD that are salient for clinical decision-making using a classic Delphi protocol.

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Background: Patellar instability is frequently encountered in patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS). The clinical outcomes of isolated medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction (MPFLR) for patellar instability in patients with EDS are unknown.

Purpose: To evaluate midterm clinical outcomes of isolated MPFLR for patellar instability in patients with EDS and factors affecting these outcomes.

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Background: There is a higher rate of failure of isolated MPFL reconstruction in skeletally immature patients with patellar instability compared to skeletally mature patients. Genu valgum is a known risk factor for patellar instability. There is potential for concomitant surgical correction of genu valgum to achieve better clinical outcomes and to decrease failure rates of MPFL reconstruction.

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Background: Management of postoperative knee arthrofibrosis can be challenging and the preferred time for intervention remains controversial. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of early (<3 mo postoperatively) manipulation under anesthesia (MUA) for the treatment of knee arthrofibrosis in adolescent patients. We hypothesized that early MUA could restore normal knee motion with a low complication rate and without the need for more invasive intervention.

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Background: Radiographic measurements of limb alignment in skeletally immature patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears are frequently used for surgical decision-making, preoperative planning, and postoperative monitoring of skeletal growth. However, the interrater and intrarater reliability of these radiographic characteristics in this patient population is not well documented.

Hypothesis: Excellent reliability across 4 raters will be demonstrated for all digital measures of length, coronal plane joint orientation angles, mechanical axis, and tibial slope in skeletally immature patients with ACL tears.

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Background: When stable osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) lesions of the femoral condyle in a skeletally immature patient fail to heal with nonoperative methods, the standard of care treatment is condylar OCD drilling. Two primary OCD drilling techniques have been described, but no prospective studies have compared their relative effectiveness.

Purpose/hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to compare the healing and function after transarticular drilling (TAD) with that after retroarticular drilling (RAD).

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Background: A primary challenge in the treatment of capitellar osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) is accurate imaging assessment. Radiographic classification consensus is not available in the current literature, and correlation of radiographs with lesion stability and resultant best treatment is lacking.

Purpose: To determine the inter- and intrarater reliability of the presence or absence and common radiographic characteristics of capitellar OCD lesions.

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Purpose: To evaluate the interrater reliability of several common radiologic parameters used for patellofemoral instability and to attempt to improve reliability for measurements demonstrating unacceptable interrater reliability through consensus training.

Methods: Fifty patients with patellar instability between the ages of 10 and 19 years were selected from a prospectively enrolled cohort. For measurements demonstrating unacceptable interrater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]: <0.

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Objectives: This study aimed to define the proportion of children who seek assistance for poorly controlled fracture pain, identify factors associated with requesting help, and explore caregivers' opioid preferences.

Methods: We enrolled 251 children and their caregivers in the orthopedic surgery clinic of a tertiary care children's hospital. Children 5 to 17 years old presenting within 10 days of injury for follow-up for a single-extremity, nonoperative long bone fracture(s) were eligible.

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Background: Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) occurs most commonly in the knees of young individuals. This condition is known to cause pain and discomfort in the knee and can lead to disability and early knee osteoarthritis. The cause is not well understood, and treatment plans are not well delineated.

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Introduction: Lacerations and open elbow injuries are common emergency department visits which necessitate an orthopedic surgery evaluation for a traumatic elbow arthrotomy (TEA). A delay in this diagnosis can lead to septic arthritis, requiring more invasive surgical procedures, prolonged antibiotics, and possible long-term sequelae. To date, there is scarce literature on TEA.

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Background: Growth disturbance is an uncommon but potentially serious complication after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction in skeletally immature patients.

Purpose: To describe how the pediatric ACL literature has assessed preoperative skeletal maturity and the amount of growth remaining and to comprehensively review the incidence, reporting, and monitoring of postoperative growth disturbance.

Study Design: Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how consistently different surgeons can assess skeletal maturity in children with patellofemoral instability through radiologic images.
  • After reviewing images, the initial reliability among surgeons was poor, indicating a lack of agreement in their assessments.
  • However, after discussing and establishing consensus methods, the revised evaluations showed almost perfect agreement, highlighting the importance of collaboration in improving clinical assessments.
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Background: Treatment options for pediatric and adolescent anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries include early operative, delayed operative, and nonoperative management. Currently, there is a lack of consensus regarding the optimal treatment for these injuries.

Purpose/hypothesis: The purpose was to determine the optimal treatment strategy for ACL injuries in pediatric and adolescent patients.

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Osteochondritis dissecans is a condition of the subchondral bone, with secondary effects on the articular cartilage. It most commonly affects the knee, elbow, and ankle and is typically seen in young, active populations. Many osteochondritis dissecans lesions are asymptomatic, but more advanced lesions can cause pain, swelling, and mechanical symptoms.

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As the number of pediatric and adolescent patients participating in sports continues to increase, so too does the incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears in this population. There is increasing research on pediatric and adolescent ACL tears; hundreds of articles on the topic have been published in the past few years alone. It is important to highlight the most pertinent information in the past decade.

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Purpose Of Review: The purpose of this review is to update the reader on the controversial subject of osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) with a focus on nonoperative treatment indications, methods, and success rate.

Recent Findings: Work by an international multicenter study group ROCK (Research in OsteoChondritis of the Knee) will be reviewed including new classifications systems of healing, arthroscopy, radiographs, and MRI, along with new evidence on off-loading bracing compared to restricted weight bearing.

Summary: The paucity of evidence behind OCD treatment of the knee can lead to confusion for doctors, patients, and parents.

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Background: Imaging characteristics of osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) lesions quantified by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are often used to inform treatment and prognosis. However, the interrater reliability of clinician-driven MRI-based assessment of OCD lesions is not well documented.

Purpose: To determine the interrater reliability of several historical and novel MRI-derived characteristics of OCD of the knee in children.

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Study Design: Prospective longitudinal study of growth modulation system for early adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), consecutive case series from first human use to skeletal maturity, fusion, or five years postoperation.

Objectives: Determine adverse events and curvature changes to end of study; examine factors most likely to explain variability in curve changes.

Summary Of Background: Pilot clinical safety study was performed under US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Investigational Device Exemption (IDE).

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Background: Although socioeconomically disadvantaged children have an increased risk of asthma, the association between early-childhood antibiotics and the incidence of asthma among such children has had limited study.

Objective: To examine the association between antibiotic fills in the first 2 years of life and risk of developing asthma among children enrolled in Medicaid plans.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study of children with continuous medical and pharmacy coverage from birth to 2.

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Objective: To evaluate sex differences in incidence rates (IRs) of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury by sport type (collision, contact, limited contact, and noncontact).

Data Sources: A systematic review was performed using the electronic databases PubMed (1969-January 20, 2017) and EBSCOhost (CINAHL, SPORTDiscus; 1969-January 20, 2017) and the search terms AND AND ( OR OR ).

Study Selection: Studies were included if they provided the number of ACL injuries and the number of athlete-exposures (AEs) by sex or enough information to allow the number of ACL injuries by sex to be calculated.

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