Effects of knee compartment, concomitant surgery and smoking on medium-term outcome of microfracture.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of compartment location, concomitant arthroscopic surgery and smoking on the medium-term outcome of knee microfracture.

Methods: From a database of all 396 patients treated with microfracture for cartilage lesions in our Unit, details were taken of the 316 patients who met our inclusion criteria. Outcome was assessed by a self-administered postal questionnaire containing a general satisfaction question and a battery of four functional assessment scores.

Outcome of meniscal repair prior compared with concurrent ACL reconstruction.

Meniscal tears are commonly associated with traumatic rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). At our centre, if a patient presents with locked knee in conjunction with an ACL injury we perform an initial arthroscopy to remove the cause of locking and schedule ACL reconstruction once a full range of motion has returned. The aim of this study was to assess the outcome of meniscal tears stabilised prior to ACL reconstruction.

White on white meniscal tears to fix or not to fix?

The mechanical disadvantage to articular cartilage following meniscectomy has been well documented in the literature. Meniscal repair in the avascular (white on white) is controversial and would be deemed inappropriate by many. We have developed criteria for repair in all meniscal tears.

Response shift in self-reported functional scores after knee microfracture for full thickness cartilage lesions.

Objective: Our aim was to determine whether response shift (RS), a change in the internal standards of a patient, occurs in patients treated for full thickness knee cartilage defects. We have also evaluated the effect of functional scores on patient satisfaction after surgery.

Design: Self-administered questionnaires were used to evaluate pre- and post-operative and retrospective post-operative scores of 53 patients following knee microfracture.

Pleural thickening in mild kaolinosis.

Background: Kaolin is found along the "fall line" in Georgia, and parenchymal changes, both simple and complicated pneumoconiosis, have been previously described. This study was done to determine whether pleural thickening occurs in workers with mild kaolin pneumoconiosis.

Methods: We evaluated 350 workers at a kaolin plant in Georgia.

Oval lipid corneal opacities in beagles: VI. Quantitation of excess stromal cholesterol and phospholipid.

We identified and quantitated the following lipids in corneas of normolipemic beagles that had oval corneal opacities: total lipids, cholesterol esters, free cholesterol, total phospholipids, phosphatidyl choline, phosphatidyl ethanolamine, sphingomyelin and total triacylglycerols. All except the total triacylglycerols were significantly higher in the 20 affected corneas than in ten normal age and sex-matched controls (P less than 0.005 for each).