Publications by authors named "Kontakis M"

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the role and reliability of the free medial femoral condyle (MFC) flap (MFCF) in demanding foot and ankle reconstruction procedures.

Materials And Methods: A search of the MEDLINE, PubMed, and Embase electronic databases was performed according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines between January 2008 and September 2023. Articles concerning free MFC bone flaps for reconstruction of the foot and ankle regions were included.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Study Design: Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objective: Scoring systems for metastatic disease of the spine are used to select patients for surgical treatment based on survival estimation, but it is unknown whether they can be used to predict the outcome of surgery. This study aims to investigate the association between two widely used prognostic scores and the neurologic function after surgery.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Purpose: Large language models like ChatGPT-4 have emerged. They hold the potential to reduce the administrative burden by generating everyday clinical documents, thus allowing the physician to spend more time with the patient. We aimed to assess both the quality and efficiency of discharge documents generated by ChatGPT-4 in comparison with those produced by physicians.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To compare the complication rates of two different types of posterior instrumentation in patients with MMC, namely, definitive fusion and fusionless surgery (growing rods).

Methods: Single-center retrospective study of 30 MMC patients that underwent posterior instrumentation for deformity (scoliosis and/or kyphosis) treatment from 2008 until 2020. The patients were grouped based on whether they received definitive fusion or a growth-accommodating system, whether they had a complication that led to early surgery, osteotomy or non-osteotomy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Distal femoral fractures in elderly or osteoporotic patients constitute a challenging injury, especially in the settings of fracture comminution or periprosthetic fractures. A recent trend in the treatment of these difficult injuries is the double fixation with a nail and a plate, a strategy that comes with advantages including faster weight-bearing and lower risk for non-union. Although biomechanical studies have demonstrated the superiority of nail-plate constructs, there is a paucity in the literature regarding the indications and results of treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Artificial disc replacement (ADR) is designed to preserve motion and thus protect against adjacent-segment pathology (ASP) and act as an alternative treatment to fusion surgery. The question remains, how well do ADR devices perform after 10 years of follow-up compared with fusion surgery in terms of patient satisfaction, sustainability, and protection against ASP?

Methods: This was the 10-year follow-up study of 153 participants who underwent ADR or fusion surgery after anterior decompression due to cervical degenerative radiculopathy (ISRCTN registration no. 44347115).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In prosthetic joint surgery, Ag coating of implant areas in direct contact with bone has been met with hesitation for fear of compromising osseointegration. The physicochemical, antibacterial and osteoconductive properties of three different Ti samples were studied: Ti6Al4V alloy that was grit-blasted (GB), Ti6Al4V alloy with an experimental Ti-Ag-nitride layer (SN) applied by physical vapour deposition (PVD) and commercially available PVD-coated Ti6Al4V alloy with a base Ag layer and a surface Ti-Ag-nitride layer (SSN, clinically known as PorAg®). Ag content on the surface of experimental SN and SSN discs was 27.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

It has been shown that bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) from patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDSs) display defective proliferative potential. We have probed the impaired replicative capacity of culture-expanded MSCs in MDS patients (n=30) compared with healthy subjects (n=32) by studying senescence characteristics and gene expression associated with WNT/transforming growth factor-β1 (TGFB1) signaling pathways. We have also explored the consequences of the impaired patient MSC proliferative potential by investigating their differentiation potential and the capacity to support normal CD34(+) cell growth under coculture conditions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF