How to Get Involved with Professional Societies, Locally, Regionally, and at the National Levels.

Professional medical societies are organizations consisting of health care professionals who share research, clinical, or social interests within a particular specialty or subspeciality of medicine. Professional societies offer members benefits including education, networking, research support, and opportunities for leadership and professional growth. These benefits can all contribute to improving a physician's proficiency in patient care, leadership, and academic pursuits.

Algorithm for Treatment of Focal Cartilage Defects of the Knee: Classic and New Procedures.

Objective: To create a treatment algorithm for focal grade 3 or 4 cartilage defects of the knee using both classic and novel cartilage restoration techniques.

Design: A comprehensive review of the literature was performed highlighting classic as well as novel cartilage restoration techniques supported by clinical and/or basic science research and currently being employed by orthopedic surgeons.

Results: There is a high level of evidence to support the treatment of small to medium size lesions (<2-4 cm) without subchondral bone involvement with traditional techniques such as marrow stimulation, osteochondral autograft transplant (OAT), or osteochondral allograft transplant (OCA).

Osteochondral Autograft Transfer for Focal Cartilage Lesions of the Knee With Donor-Site Back-Fill Using Precut Osteochondral Allograft Plugs and Micronized Extracellular Cartilage Augmentation.

Osteochondral autograft transfer (OAT) allows for the treatment of focal chondral lesions of the femoral condyles. Patients undergoing OAT have been shown to have the greatest rate and quickest return to sport of any cartilage-restoration procedure. Disadvantages encountered with the OAT procedure include limited donor sources, small treatable lesion size, and donor-site morbidity.

Ulnar Collateral Ligament Tear Location May Affect Return-to-Sports Rate but Not Performance Upon Return to Sports After Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction Surgery in Professional Baseball Players.

Background: The number of ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tears in professional baseball players is increasing. UCL reconstruction (UCLR) is the treatment of choice in players with failed nonoperative treatment who wish to return to sports (RTS). It is unknown if UCL tear location influences the ability of players to RTS or affects their performance upon RTS.

Technology Used in the Prevention and Treatment of Shoulder and Elbow Injuries in the Overhead Athlete.

Purpose Of Review: To review the current technology available for the prevention and treatment of shoulder and elbow injuries in the overhead athlete.

Recent Findings: Shoulder and elbow injuries are common in recreational and high-level overhead athletes. Injury prevention in these athletes include identifying modifiable risk factors, offering effective preventative training programs, and establishing safe return-to-sport criteria.

Recurrent Patellofemoral Instability in the Pediatric Patient: Management and Pitfalls.

Purpose Of Review: The purpose of the review is to discuss the relevant pathoanatomy, management, complications, and technical considerations for recurrent patellofemoral instability (PFI) in the pediatric population. Special consideration is given to recent literature and management of the patient with repeat instability following surgery.

Recent Findings: Patellar stabilization surgery is in principle dependent upon restoration of normal patellofemoral anatomy and dynamic alignment.

Radiographic and functional outcomes of bisphosphonate use in lumbar fusion: a systematic review and meta-analysis of comparative studies.

Purpose: To date, there are conflicting reports with no consensus on the influence of bisphosphonates on lumbar fusion. The goal of this study was to compare the radiographic and functional outcomes of patients that had lumbar fusion with and without bisphosphonates.

Methods: A systematic search of multiple medical reference databases was conducted for studies comparing bisphosphonate use to controls following spinal fusion.

Demographic Trends in the Use of Intraoperative Neuromonitoring for Scoliosis Surgery in the United States.

Background: Intraoperative neuromonitoring (ION), such as motor-evoked potential (MEP), somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP), and electromyography (EMG), is used to detect impending neurological injuries during spinal surgery. To date, little is known about the trends in the use of ION for scoliosis surgery in the United States.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed using the PearlDiver Database to identify patients that had scoliosis surgery with and without ION from years 2005 to 2011.

Open Tibial Inlay PCL Reconstruction: Surgical Technique and Clinical Outcomes.

Purpose Of Review: To review the current literature on clinical outcomes following open tibial inlay posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) reconstruction and provide the reader with a detailed description of the author's preferred surgical technique.

Recent Findings: Despite earlier biomechanical studies which demonstrated superiority of the PCL inlay technique when compared to transtibial techniques, recent longitudinal cohort studies have shown no significant differences in clinical or functional outcomes at 10-year follow-up. Furthermore, no significant clinical differences have been shown between graft types used and/or single- versus double-bundle reconstruction methods.

Demographic Trends in the Use of Intraoperative Neuromonitoring for Scoliosis Surgery in the United States.

Background: Intraoperative neuromonitoring (ION) such as motor-evoked potential (MEP), somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) and electromyography (EMG) are used to detect impending neurological injuries during spinal surgery. To date, little is known on the trends in the use of ION for scoliosis surgery in the United States.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed using the PearlDiver Database to identify patients that had scoliosis surgery with and without ION from years 2005 to 2011.

Demographic trends in arthroscopic and open biceps tenodesis across the United States.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate trends in procedures and to report on demographic data of patients undergoing arthroscopic vs. open biceps tenodesis.

Methods: A retrospective review of a commercially available database (PearlDiver) was conducted to identify cases of arthroscopic and open biceps tenodesis performed between 2007 and 2011 with concurrent diagnoses of commonly associated shoulder disorders.

Up-regulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in menthol cigarette smokers.

One-third of smokers primarily use menthol cigarettes and usage of these cigarettes leads to elevated serum nicotine levels and more difficulty quitting in standard treatment programmes. Previous brain imaging studies demonstrate that smoking (without regard to cigarette type) leads to up-regulation of β(2)*-containing nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). We sought to determine if menthol cigarette usage results in greater nAChR up-regulation than non-menthol cigarette usage.

Effect of secondhand smoke on occupancy of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in brain.

Context: Despite progress in tobacco control, secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure remains prevalent worldwide and is implicated in the initiation and maintenance of cigarette smoking.

Objective: To determine whether moderate SHS exposure results in brain α(4)β(2)* nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) occupancy.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Positron emission tomography scanning and the radiotracer 2-[18F]fluoro-3-(2(S)azetidinylmethoxy) pyridine (also known as 2-[(18)F]fluoro-A-85380, or 2-FA) were used to determine α(4)β(2)* nAChR occupancy from SHS exposure in 24 young adult participants (11 moderately dependent cigarette smokers and 13 nonsmokers).