The West Point Knot: A Sliding-Locking Arthroscopic Knot.

Despite the advent of sutureless technology, knot tying remains an important skill for any arthroscopist. When one is choosing which knot to tie, there are a variety of options, with each possessing its own inherent strengths and weaknesses. The West Point knot is a sliding-locking arthroscopic knot that is relatively easy to learn and has excellent knot security.

Glenohumeral Instability Related to Special Conditions: SLAP Tears, Pan-labral Tears, and Multidirectional Instability.

Glenohumeral instability is one of the more common conditions seen by sports medicine physicians, especially in young, active athletes. The associated anatomy of the glenohumeral joint (the shallow nature of the glenoid and the increased motion it allows) make the shoulder more prone to instability events as compared with other joints. Although traumatic dislocations or instability events associated with acute labral tears (ie, Bankart lesions) are well described in the literature, there exists other special shoulder conditions that are also associated with shoulder instability: superior labrum anterior/posterior (SLAP) tears, pan-labral tears, and multidirectional instability.

Operative management of complex lumbosacral dissociations in combat injuries.

Background Context: As war injury patterns have changed throughout Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom (OIF and OEF), a relative increase in the incidence of complex lumbosacral dissociation (LSD) injuries has been noted. Lumbosacral dissociation injuries are an anatomical separation of the spinal column from the pelvis, and represent a manifestation of severe, high-energy trauma.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the clinical outcomes of combat-related LSD injuries at a mean of 7 years following operative treatment.

Persistent axial neck pain after cervical disc arthroplasty: a radiographic analysis.

Background Context: There is very little literature examining optimal radiographic parameters for placement of cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA), nor is there substantial evidence evaluating the relationship between persistent postoperative neck pain and radiographic outcomes.

Purpose: We set out to perform a single-center evaluation of the radiographic outcomes, including associated complications, of CDA.

Design: This is a retrospective review.

Reoperation after in-theater combat spine surgery.

Background Context: The ideal timing of surgical decompression or stabilization following combat-related spine injury remains unclear.

Purpose: The study aims to determine the etiology and factors related to reoperation following evacuation to the United States after undergoing in-theater spine surgery.

Study Design: This is a retrospective analysis.

The Use of Intravenous Tranexamic Acid in Patients Undergoing Total Hip or Knee Arthroplasty: A Retrospective Analysis at a Single Military Institution.

Objective: To describe a single institution's experience after initiation of a protocol in which all primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients were administered intravenous tranexamic acid (TXA) intraoperatively to decrease perioperative blood loss.

Methods: A retrospective review of medical records at a single institution from February 2012 to April 2014. The TXA treatment group was compared to a control group.

An Analysis of Research from Faculty at U.S. Adult Reconstruction Fellowships.

We reviewed all articles published in three major orthopaedic journals from January 2010 to December 2014. Any article focusing on adult reconstruction of the hip or knee was reviewed for first and last authorship, institution, and level of evidence. Three institutions had authored work from arthroplasty faculty that fell within the top five most published institutions in all three journals, while one institution ranked first in all three journals.

Outcomes After Operative Management of Combat-Related Low Lumbar Burst Fractures.

Study Design: Retrospective review.

Objective: Report the 2-year operative and clinical outcomes of these service members with low lumbar fractures.

Summary Of Background Data: The majority of spinal fractures occur at the thoracolumbar level, with fractures caudal to L2 accounting for only 1% of spine fractures.

Operative treatment of new onset radiculopathy secondary to combat injury.

We set out to describe combat-related spine trauma over a 10-year period, and thereby determine the frequency of new onset radiculopathy secondary to injuries sustained in support of combat operations. We performed a retrospective analysis of a surgical database at three military institutions. Patients undergoing spine surgery following a combat-related injury in Afghanistan or Iraq between July 2003 and July 2013 were evaluated.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion rates performed without posterolateral fusion.

The need for posterolateral fusion (PLF) in addition to interbody fusion during minimally invasive (MIS) transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) has yet to be established. Omitting a PLF significantly reduces overall surface area available for achieving a solid arthrodesis, however it decreases the soft tissue dissection and costs of additional bone graft. The authors sought to perform a meta-analysis to establish the fusion rate of MIS TLIF performed without attempting a PLF.