Pros and cons of sub-specialisation in orthopaedics and traumatology-Is the general orthopaedic and trauma surgeon a relic of the past?

The evolution of orthopaedics has witnessed a pronounced shift from generalist practice to subspecialisation, a trend that has fundamentally reshaped the field over the past century. Originally, orthopaedic surgeons were trained to address a broad spectrum of musculoskeletal conditions. However, increasing complexity and specialization in knowledge have driven a progressive narrowing of focus within orthopaedics.

Plantaris Tendon Autograft Can Restore Patellar Stability in Adolescent Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Reconstruction: A Technical Note.

Medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction is a standard treatment option for patients with patellar instability. The main purpose of this study was to determine whether isolated anatomic medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction using double folded, four-strand plantaris tendon autograft restores patellar stability in adolescent patients. Plantaris tendon autografts were harvested through proximal approach and used in four adolescent patients.

Management of the first episode of traumatic patellar dislocation: an international survey.

Purpose: This international survey aimed to evaluate the potential controversies regarding the management of first patellar dislocation amongst experienced knee surgeries in the treatment of the first episode of patellar dislocation without osteochondral fragments.

Methods: An online survey was conducted from February 2021 to December 2021 to assess the global trend in the diagnosis and management of first-time patellar dislocation without osteochondral fragments. The online survey was accessible on the homepage of the website of the European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy (ESSKA).

Reciprocal Alterations in Osteoprogenitor and Immune Cell Populations in Rheumatoid Synovia.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is chronic, autoimmune joint inflammation characterized by irreversible joint destruction. Besides increased resorption, destruction is a result of decreased bone formation, due to suppressed differentiation and function of the mesenchymal lineage-derived osteoblasts in inflammatory milieu. In this study, we analyzed the cellular composition of synovial tissue from 11 RA and 10 control patients harvested during planned surgeries in order to characterize resident synovial progenitor populations.

Plantaris tendon is valuable graft for the medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction: A biomechanical study.

Background: Medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction is a standard treatment option for selected patients with patellar instability. Although frequently performed, the optimal graft source for the procedure has not yet been established. This study aimed to determine whether a two-strand plantaris tendon construct possesses the biomechanical properties needed to act as an MPFL reconstruction graft.

Comparison of systemic inflammatory responses of proximal femoral nail versus dynamic hip screw after treatment of patients with pertrochanteric fractures: A prospective comparative study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the differences between the induction of early postoperative inflammatory response and muscle tissue injury biomarkers after treatment of pertrochanteric fractures by dynamic hip screw (DHS) or proximal femoral nail (PFN).

Methods: In this prospective comparative study, 40 patients with AO-Müller/Orthopaedic Trauma Association (AO/OTA) 31. A1-31.

Tibial tuberosity-tibial intercondylar midpoint distance measured on computed tomography scanner is not biased during knee rotation and could be clinically more relevant than current measurement systems.

Purpose: The purpose of this retrospective cross-sectional case-control study was to evaluate an alternative imaging test for lateralization of the tibial tuberosity, unbiased towards knee rotation.

Methods: On axial CT images of 129 knees, classified as cases (two or more patellar luxations) and controls (no patellar luxations), two raters gauged the standard tibial tuberosity-trochlear groove (TT-TG) distance, tibial tuberosity-femoral intercondylar midpoint (TT-FIM) distance, and new tibial tuberosity-tibial intercondylar midpoint (TT-TIM) distance singly, and knee longitudinal rotation angles (LRAs), and the presence of femoral trochlear dysplasia (FTD) jointly.

Results: All imaging tests intercorrelated and discriminated between stability groups.

Plantaris tendon: a novel graft for anterolateral ligament reconstruction and additional reinforcement for anterior cruciate ligament autografts in combined reconstructive procedures.

The anterolateral ligament is recently recognized as an important structure in restoring rotational stability of the anterior cruciate ligament-deficient knee. Biomechanical and clinical studies confirmed the benefits of concurrent anterior cruciate ligament and anterolateral ligament reconstruction. However, present techniques mostly use hamstring tendons autografts and therefore additionally disrupt the knee biomechanics.

Applications and critical evaluation of fascia iliaca compartment block and quadratus lumborum block for orthopedic procedures.

Anterior section of the hip joint capsule is innervated by femoral nerve and obturator nerve, and posterior section is innervated by the nerve to quadratus femoris muscle and occasionally by the superior gluteal (posterolateral region) and sciatic nerve (posterosuperior region). One of the regional anesthesia options for hip surgery is the fascia iliaca compartment block (FICB) that affects nerves important for hip innervation and sensory innervation of the thigh - femoral, obturator and lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. FICB can be easily performed and is often a good solution for management of hip fractures in emergency departments.

The physiological range of the Böhler's angle in the adult Croatian population.

Background: To examine the relationship of the Böhler's angle with age, sex, and laterality, and to analyze the interrater agreement.

Methods: After 248 digital lateral radiographs of the foot were submitted to exclusion criteria, three raters independently measured the Böhler's angle on the remaining 130 X-rays in PACS. The variables were analyzed with correlation coefficients, and one-way ANOVA.

Biological aspects of segmental bone defects management.

Segmental bone defect management is among the most demanding issues in orthopaedics and there is a great medical need for establishing an appropriate treatment option. Tissue transfer, including bone autografts or free flaps, depending on the size of the bone deficiency, is currently the "gold standard" for treatment of such defects. Osteogenic cells in combination with adequate growth factors and a suitable scaffold, from the aspect of osteoinductivity, osteoconductivity and mechanical stability, are mandatory to successfully restore a bone defect as determined in the "diamond concept".

The clinical use of bone morphogenetic proteins revisited: a novel biocompatible carrier device OSTEOGROW for bone healing.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to revise the clinical use of commercial BMP2 (Infuse) and BMP7 (Osigraft) based bone devices and explore the mechanism of action and efficacy of low BMP6 doses in a novel whole blood biocompatible device OSTEOGROW.

Methods: Complications from the clinical use of BMP2 and BMP7 have been systemically reviewed in light of their role in bone remodeling. BMP6 function has been assessed in Bmp6-/- mice by μCT and skeletal histology, and has also been examined in mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and osteoclasts.

Mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of cartilage lesions: from preclinical findings to clinical application in orthopaedics.

Purpose: The aim of this systematic review is to examine the available clinical evidence in the literature to support mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) treatment strategies in orthopaedics for cartilage defect regeneration.

Methods: The research was performed on the PubMed database considering the English literature from 2002 and using the following key words: cartilage, cartilage repair, mesenchymal stem cells, MSCs, bone marrow concentrate (BMC), bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells, bone marrow stromal cells, adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells, and synovial-derived mesenchymal stem cells.

Results: The systematic research showed an increasing number of published studies on this topic over time and identified 72 preclinical papers and 18 clinical trials.

[Ligament which deserves attention--medial patellofemoral ligament].

There has been increasing interest in investigating the medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) during the last fifteen years. This is due to the recognition of the MPFL as the primary static soft-tissue restraint to lateral patellar displacement and the association of MPFL injury with primary traumatic patellar dislocation. The MPFL often heals poorly and thus rarely regains its full function.

Non-surgical management of early knee osteoarthritis.

Conservative approach is usually the first choice for the management of the knee degeneration processes, especially in the phase of the disease recognized as early osteoarthritis (OA) with no clear lesions or associated abnormalities requiring to be addressed surgically. A wide spectrum of treatments is available, from non-pharmacological modalities to dietary supplements and pharmacological therapies, as well as minimally invasive procedures involving injections of various substances aiming to restore joint homeostasis and provide clinical improvement and possibly a disease-modifying effect. Numerous pharmaceuticals have been proposed, but since no therapy has shown all the characteristic of an ideal treatment, and side effects have been reported at both systemic and local level, the use of pharmacological agents should be considered with caution by assessing the risk/benefit ratio of the drugs prescribed.

Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)1-3 enhances bone repair.

Members of the astacin family of metalloproteinases such as human bone morphogenetic protein 1 (BMP-1) regulate morphogenesis by processing precursors to mature functional extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and several growth factors including TGFβ, BMP2, BMP4 and GFD8. We have recently discovered that BMP1-3 isoform of the Bmp-1 gene circulates in the human plasma and is significantly increased in patients with acute bone fracture. We hypothesized that circulating BMP1-3 might have an important role in bone repair and serve as a novel bone biomarker.

[Cultivation and implantation of chondrocytes].

Autologous chondrocyte transplantation is applied in patients with symptomatic articular cartilage defect due to a prior unsuccessful procedure on damaged cartilage, with a purpose to regenerate the cartilage. The procedure starts with an orthopedic surgeon establishing chondral defect in a joint and, during the knee arthroscopy, referring to the laboratory a cartilage biopsy specimen of a rice size from a non-weight-bearing part of the joint (usually the lateral part of the knee trochlea). Qualified biologists and technicians at the laboratory will then separate the cartilage cells from the extracellular matrix, followed by storing parts of healthy cartilage (300-500 mg) into a medium containing antibiotics, antimycotics and ascorbic acid, Individual cartilage cells (chondrocytes) will be isolated by enzymatic digestion.

Characterized chondrocyte implantation results in better structural repair when treating symptomatic cartilage defects of the knee in a randomized controlled trial versus microfracture.

Background: As the natural healing capacity of damaged articular cartilage is poor, joint surface injuries are a prime target for regenerative medicine. Characterized chondrocyte implantation uses an autologous cartilage cell therapy product that has been optimized for its biological potency to form stable cartilage tissue in vivo.

Purpose: To determine whether, in symptomatic cartilage defects of the femoral condyle, structural regeneration with characterized chondrocyte implantation is superior to repair with microfracture.

Regeneration of the skeleton by recombinant human bone morphogenetic proteins.

Recombinant human bone morphogenetic proteins (rhBMPs) have past a long journey in human orthopaedic surgery during the last 15 years. From the first reports of the use of rhBMPs in hostile environments such as critically-sized bone defects, avascular femoral head necrosis, unstable thoracolumbar vertebral fractures, instability between the atlas and axis due to rheumatoid arthritis; over the use for nonunions of long bones and the scaphoid, reconstructive and revision surgeries of the hip, acute fractures, allograft nonunions, congenital pseudarthrosis, and various approaches of lumbar and cervical spine fusions, rhBMPs overgrow to a safe and reliable device in the treatment of open tibial shaft fractures, nonunions of long bone fractures, anterior lumbar interbody fusion and revision posterolateral lumbar fusions. Systematic review of the published literature of rhBMPs is presented.

Treatment of a congenital pseudarthrosis of the tibia by osteogenic protein-1 (bone morphogenetic protein-7): a case report.

Congenital pseudarthrosis of the tibia remains one of the most difficult orthopaedic problems to treat. Before the use of a recombinant bone morphogenetic protein (bone morphogenetic protein-7; osteogenic protein-1) the patient with congenital pseudarthrosis of the tibia in this report had had 12 unsuccessful surgeries. Five months after radical resection of sclerotic tibial segments, Ilizarov fixation and administration of osteogenic protein-1 osteogenic device, the congenital pseudarthrosis of the tibia healed; at 45 months the tibia increased in size and the patient was fully weight bearing.

[Emergencies in the knee joint surgery].

Anatomy of the knee joint is one of the most complicated when compared to other joints in the human body. Due to high demands and strong forces acting on the knee joint, it is also one of the most injured joints. Every structure in the joint can be damaged and some of the damages demand earlier treatment.

Bone morphogenetic protein-7 (osteogenic protein-1) promotes tendon graft integration in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in sheep.

Background: Bone morphogenetic proteins induce new bone both in patients with bone defects and at extraskeletal sites in animals. After anterior cruciate ligament rupture, tendon graft fixation into a bone tunnel is a widely used method for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Hypothesis: Bone morphogenetic protein-7 applied to the bone-tendon interface enables better integration of a free tendon graft into the surrounding bone.