Professor Rolfe Birch: A Pioneer in Peripheral Nerve Surgery and a Mentor to Generations.

Professor Rolfe Birch, a founding head in the field of peripheral neurological surgery, left an enduring legacy marked by groundbreaking research, innovative surgical techniques, and unwavering dedication to patient care. From his early fascination with the nervous system to his pioneering work in brachial plexus injuries and the establishment of the UK's (if not the continent's) first peripheral nerve injury unit, Prof. Birch's contributions transformed the landscape of understanding, diagnosing, and treating peripheral nerve pathologies.

Supraclavicular brachial plexus exploration and centralisation of services: An opinion from a national peripheral nerve injury referral unit.

Centralising complex surgeries in specialised UK hospitals improves patient outcomes by leveraging high-volume expertise and optimising resources. Supraclavicular brachial plexus exploration, a complex and high-risk procedure, requires centralisation to enhance care standards. This approach ensures experienced teams, advanced diagnostics, and a multidisciplinary framework for preoperative, surgical, and postoperative care.

Radiolucent cerclage for humerus fractures: beware of radial nerve injury-a case report.

A 73-year-old woman was referred to a National Centre for Peripheral Nerve Injury with a post-operative left radial nerve degenerative lesion following open reduction and internal fixation of a proximal third humerus fracture using radiolucent Arthrex FiberTape® Cerclage as an adjunct to plating to improve stability. Intra-operative photographs illustrate compression of the radial nerve under the cerclage construct. Use of radiolucent cerclage for humerus fractures is increasing with modern systems capable of withstanding an ultimate load of 4300 N.

Does a novel 3D printed individualized guiding template based on cutaneous fiducial markers contribute to accurate percutaneous insertion of pelvic screws? A preliminary phantom and cadaver study.

Background: Most 3D-printed guiding templates require dissection of soft tissues to match the corresponding surfaces of the guiding templates. This study sought to explore the accuracy and acceptability of the novel 3D printed individualized guiding templates based on cutaneous fiducial markers in minimally invasive screw placement for pelvic fractures.

Methods: The printed template was tested on five high-fidelity biomimetic phantom models of the bony pelvis and its surrounding soft tissues as well as on two fresh frozen cadavers.

Scaffold-associated procedures are superior to microfracture in managing focal cartilage defects in the knee: A systematic review & meta-analysis.

Background: Debate continues as to whether surgical treatment with chondral-regeneration devices is superior to microfracture for focal articular cartilage defects in the knee.

Purpose: To evaluate the superiority of scaffold-associated chondral-regeneration procedures over microfracture by assessing: (1) Patient-reported outcomes; (2) Intervention failure; (3) Histological quality of cartilage repair.

Study Design: A three-concept keyword search strategy was designed, in accordance with PRISMA guidelines: (i) knee (ii) microfracture (iii) scaffold.

Evaluating the effectiveness of the Imperial Femoral Intramedullary Nailing Cognitive Task Analysis (IFINCTA) tool in a real-time simulation setting (Distributed Interactive Simulation): a randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Working time regulations, senior led service delivery and increasing complexity of surgical technology has led to significant strains in surgical training. Additionally, the current COVID-19 pandemic has placed substantial limitations on surgical training worldwide. Contact free, remote, web-based, validated learning tools which are easily accessible and allows repeated, sustained practice are the need of the hour.

Do Patients Accurately Represent Their Experiences After Hip and Knee Replacements?

Background To investigate discrepancies, if any, between the complications that patients report on the patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) questionnaire and what is formally recorded in their medical records. Methodology A retrospective analysis of PROMs-reported complications was performed at a single elective center for all patients who had an elective primary total knee or hip replacement between April 2016 and March 2017. Corresponding patient medical records were then analyzed to correlate the PROMs with any documentation of postoperative complications, which similar to the PROMs data were categorized into wound complications, urinary complications, readmission, and further operative procedures.

Face, content, construct validity and training effect of touch surgery™ as a surgical decision-making trainer for novices in open appendicectomy.

Background: Laparoscopic surgery has become the gold standard for many operations with significant benefits in morbidity and hospital recovery time. One such procedure is appendicectomy, which is overwhelmingly performed using the laparoscopic approach in the modern era. This has also meant that the number of cases involving traditional open appendicectomy has declined despite surgeons being expected to be able to convert to the open technique if required.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on orthopedic trauma workload in a London level 1 trauma center: the "golden month".

Background and purpose - The COVID-19 pandemic has been recognized as an unprecedented global health crisis. This is the first observational study to evaluate its impact on the orthopedic workload in a London level 1 trauma center (i.e.

Training and Transfer Effect of FluoroSim, an Augmented Reality Fluoroscopic Simulator for Dynamic Hip Screw Guidewire Insertion: A Single-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: FluoroSim, a novel fluoroscopic simulator, can be used to practice dynamic hip screw (DHS) guidewire insertion in a high-fidelity clinical scenario. Our aim was to demonstrate a training effect in undergraduate medical students who are not familiar with this operation and its simulation.

Methods: Forty-five undergraduate medical students were recruited and randomized to either training (n = 23) or control (n = 22) cohorts.

Knee Arthroscopy: A Simulation Demonstrating the Imperial Knee Arthroscopy Cognitive Task Analysis (IKACTA) Tool.

Background: Virtual reality and cadaveric simulations are expensive and not readily accessible. Innovative and accessible training adjuncts are required to help meet training needs. Cognitive task analysis (CTA) has been used extensively to train pilots and surgeons in other surgical specialties.

Are multiple views superior to a single view when teaching hip surgery? A single-blinded randomized controlled trial of technical skill acquisition.

Purpose: Surgical education videos currently all use a single point of view (POV) with the trainee locked onto a fixed viewpoint, which may not deliver sufficient information for complex procedures. We developed a novel multiple POV video system and evaluated its training outcome compared with traditional single POV.

Methods: We filmed a hip resurfacing procedure performed by an expert attending using 8 cameras in theatre.

Learning Acetabular Fracture Classification using a Three-Dimensional Interactive Software: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Acetabular fractures are a real challenge for junior doctors as well as experienced orthopedic surgeons. Correct fracture classification is crucial for appreciating the fracture type, surgical planning, and predicting prognosis. Although three-dimensional (3D) tutorial is believed to improve the understanding of the complex anatomy structure, there have been few applications and randomized controlled trials to confirm it in orthopedics.

Trauma simulation training: a randomized controlled trial -evaluating the effectiveness of the Imperial Femoral Intramedullary Nailing Cognitive Task Analysis (IFINCTA) tool.

Background and purpose - Cognitive task analysis (CTA) has been used extensively to train pilots and in other surgical specialties. However, the use of CTA within orthopedics is in its infancy. We evaluated the effectiveness of a novel CTA tool to improve understanding of the procedural steps in antegrade femoral intramedullary nailing.

Teaching basic trauma: validating FluoroSim, a digital fluoroscopic simulator for guide-wire insertion in hip surgery.

Background and purpose - Simulation is an adjunct to surgical education. However, nothing can accurately simulate fluoroscopic procedures in orthopedic trauma. Current options for training with fluoroscopy are either intraoperative, which risks radiation, or use of expensive and unrealistic virtual reality simulators.

Knee Arthroscopy Simulation: A Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Imperial Knee Arthroscopy Cognitive Task Analysis (IKACTA) Tool.

Background: Virtual-reality and cadaveric simulations are expensive and not readily accessible. Innovative and accessible training adjuncts are required to help to meet training needs. Cognitive task analysis has been used extensively to train pilots and in other surgical specialties.

The Transferability of Generic Minimally Invasive Surgical Skills: Is There Crossover of Core Skills Between Laparoscopy and Arthroscopy?

Objective: The primary objective was observing transferability of minimally invasive surgical skills between virtual reality simulators for laparoscopy and arthroscopy. Secondary objectives were to assess face validity and acceptability.

Design: Prospective single-blinded crossover randomized controlled trial.