Early clinical results of the BOX ankle replacement are satisfactory: a multicenter feasibility study of 158 ankles.

A new design for a 3-part ankle replacement was developed in an effort to achieve compatibility with the naturally occurring ligaments of the ankle by allowing certain fibers to remain isometric during passive motion. In order to test the design concept clinically, 158 prostheses were implanted in 156 patients within a 9-center trial and were followed up for a mean of 17 (range 6 to 48) months. The mean age at the time of surgery was 60.

Percutaneous drilling for chronic heel pain.

The authors report a retrospective study involving 25 feet in 21 patients who underwent percutaneous drilling for chronic heel pain. Patients with increased activity of the heel were considered for surgical treatment if there was increased uptake on the delayed bone scans. The average follow-up was 21 months (range, 6 to 30 months).

Repair of the achilles tendon rupture: a functional comparison of three surgical techniques.

A retrospective comparison of three surgical procedures for the acute treatment of closed ruptures of the Achilles tendon is presented: 1) open repair, 2) a percutaneous technique, and 3) a combined mini-open and percutaneous technique. The authors compared the results of 52 tendon ruptures, including 15 open repairs, 15 percutaneous repairs, and 22 combined repairs, with minimal follow-up of 12 months. The authors evaluated the parameters of strength, performance, use of shoes, time of returning to work, range of ankle motion, calf circumference, pain, ability to perform 20 toe-raises on each side, and MRI findings.

Role of oral versus IV iron supplementation in the erythropoietic response to rHuEPO: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Preoperative treatment with rHuEPO (epoetin alfa: EPREX, Janssen-Cilag; or PROCRIT, Ortho Biotech) in conjunction with iron supplementation increases the erythropoietic response in elective orthopedic surgery patients, but it is not known whether the magnitude of this response is dependent on the route of iron administration.

Study Design And Methods: Non-iron-deficient patients undergoing elective orthopedic surgery (N = 110) with baseline Hb > or =10 to < or =13 g per dL were randomly assigned to receive either epoetin alfa (600 IU/kg) plus IV iron (n = 29) or oral iron (n = 29) or placebo plus IV iron (n = 25) or oral iron (n = 27) in this 14-day study. RBC production, Hb, Hct, reticulocytes, iron status, and adverse events were monitored throughout the study.

The surgical correction of metatarsal dysmetria.

The authors report the results of surgical correction in 5 cases of metatarsal dysmetria; lengthening in 3 cases and shortening in 2 cases. Lengthening was achieved by gradual distraction without using grafts. External mini-fixators were used which could be either lengthened by a sliding mechanism for distraction or used in compression in the case of shortening.