Mitigating Factors in L4 and L5 Medial Branch Motor Stimulation During Radiofrequency Ablation.

Purpose Of Review: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a minimally invasive procedure for facet joint pain. The targets for the procedure are the medial branches of the dorsal spinal nerves which innervate the facet joints. Before RFA, patients undergo diagnostic meal branch blocks to ensure appropriate pain relief and confirm the utility of proceeding to RFA.

Getting control of hydrogel networks with cross-linkable monomers.

The structure of a hydrogel network determines its ability to dissipate stress upon deformation, as well as its ability to swell in water. By designing systems with cross-linkable thiol groups in the monomers, radical thiol-ene chemistry was used to form controlled networks for acrylamide monomers. The use of radical thiol-ene chemistry effectively suppressed homo-polymerization of the bis(acrylamide) monomer and resulted in networks of alternating thiol and acrylamide monomers.

Mechanical properties of bioabsorbable meniscal arrows as a function of tear location: an ex vivo experimental study.

Background: Ex vivo studies have established that arrow fixation of meniscal tears is inferior to vertical sutures and is dependent on arrow length, although the influence of tear location is not known.

Hypothesis: Arrow length and tear location influence the mechanical properties of meniscal arrows.

Study Design: Controlled laboratory study.

A protocol for treatment of unstable ankle fractures using transarticular fixation in patients with diabetes mellitus and loss of protective sensibility.

Background: Surgical treatment of ankle fractures in patients with diabetes mellitus is associated with a high complication rate. Diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy are a particularly difficult group to treat because of their inability to sense deep infection, repeat trauma, and wound complications. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a protocol that included transarticular fixation and prolonged, protected weightbearing in the treatment of unstable ankle fractures in diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy and loss of protective sensibility.

Treatment of rigid hypertrophic posttraumatic pseudarthrosis of the tibia in children using distraction osteogenesis.

Posttraumatic tibial pseudarthrosis is a relatively uncommon complication of tibia fractures in children. Although reported as a successful method of treating tibial nonunions in adults, distraction osteogenesis through a nonunion site via ring external fixation has not been described in children. The authors report three consecutive cases of distraction through an angulated, shortened, hypertrophic, posttraumatic nonunion to achieve successful union and concurrent correction of deformity.