Transplantation of de novo scaffold-free cartilage implants into sheep knee chondral defects.

Background: New cell-based treatments for articular cartilage repair are needed. As the optimal scaffold for cartilage repair has yet to be developed, scaffold-free cartilage implants may remove the complications caused by suboptimal scaffolds.

Hypothesis: The implantation of a scaffold-free, autologous de novo cartilage implant into standardized full-thickness cartilage defects of femoral condyles in sheep leads to a qualitatively better regenerative tissue than does periosteal flap alone or no treatment.

Quality of life after multiple trauma: the effect of early onset psychotherapy on quality of life in trauma patients.

Background And Aims: The aim of this study was to improve health-related quality of life (HRQOL) related to depression, anxiety, pain, physical functioning and social aspects for severely injured trauma survivors by early onset cognitive behavioural therapy applied on the surgical ward.

Materials And Methods: The study was a randomised, controlled study. Of 298 primary screened patients 171 were eligible and randomised.

Biodegradable implants versus standard metal fixation for displaced radial head fractures. A prospective, randomized, multicenter study.

This multicenter, prospective, randomized study compares the use of biodegradable polylactide pins with standard metal mini-fragment implants for the treatment of displaced radial head fractures. It compares complication rates and clinical outcomes of both treatment methods. At 2 years, 135 (82%) of 164 patients were available for evaluation.

Anatomy of the clavicle and the intramedullary nailing of midclavicular fractures.

Intramedullary fixation is used increasingly to treat clavicular fractures. Anatomical variations in the clavicle of relevance to this procedure are analyzed. The length, diameters and curvature of the clavicle were measured in 196 specimens from the dissecting room.

Augmentation of intraarticular calcaneal fractures with injectable calcium phosphate cement: densitometry, histology, and functional outcome of 18 patients.

Eighteen patients with intraarticular calcaneal fractures treated with open reduction and internal fixation and augmentation with an injectable carbonated apatite cement. Functional follow-up studies using the Zwipp Foot Score and densitometry were performed at 6-month intervals postoperatively. Histological samples of biopsies obtained at the time of hardware removal (6 months postoperatively) were also analyzed.

Outcomes and complications of elastic stable intramedullary nailing for forearm fractures in children.

This prospective study investigated medium-term outcomes for 51 children treated from 1997 to 2001 for displaced diaphyseal forearm fractures with elastic stable intramedullary nailing. Forty-three patients included achieved excellent/good functional results at an average follow-up of 38 months. Four patients required open fracture-manipulation at surgery.

Biodegradable implants for Pipkin fractures.

The current study was designed to clarify whether biodegradable poly-L/DL lactide pins provide an operative alternative for fixation of Pipkin fractures. Nine patients with Pipkin fractures (one with Pipkin Type I, one with Pipkin Type II, and seven with Pipkin Type IV fractures) were treated surgically between 1996 and 2002. In all patients, the femoral head fractures were fixed with biodegradable, 2.

A comparative radiological assessment of polylactide pins over 3 years in vivo.

Biodegradable polylactide implants allow secure fixation of osteochondral fractures with minimal adverse effects. The goal of this prospective, randomized animal study was to show whether osteoconductive effects can be achieved through the development of poly-L/DL(70/30)lactide composite implants with 10% beta-tricalcium phosphate, and whether degradation can be positively influenced and adverse effects minimized using such implants. An additional goal was to clarify which radiological procedure is most suitable to observe the course of follow-up.

Elastic stable intramedullary nailing of midclavicular fractures with a titanium nail.

This study presents the results of a minimally invasive operative treatment for markedly displaced midclavicular fractures. In all patients a flexible titanium nail was inserted in an unreamed technique from the sternal end of the clavicle. The result of surgery was determined with clinical and radiographic controls.

Altered sensory input improves the accuracy of muscle reinnervation.

Purpose: To improve functional recovery after peripheral nerve suture, we characterized the quality of target reinnervation in rats in which the afferent trigeminal connection to facial motoneurons had been altered.

Methods: Employing an improved lesion model and a refined mode of retrograde tracer application, we studied the accuracy of reinnervation in rats which underwent buccal-buccal nerve anastomosis (BBA) alone (group 1), BBA plus excision of the ipsilateral infraorbital nerve (ION; group 2), and BBA plus excision of the contralateral ION (group 3). This was done by comparison between the number of double-labeled motoneurons after pre-operative injection of Fluoro-Gold (FG) and post-operative injection of Fast Blue (FB) into the whisker pad muscles.