Grade III Distal Medial Collateral Ligament Tear Missed by Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Report of Two Cases.

Medial collateral ligament (MCL) injuries are the most common knee ligament injuries. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the investigation of choice for detecting such injuries. We report two cases of acute grade 3 MCL tears in young adults in which the injury was suspected clinically and was later confirmed by surgical exploration.

Normalized STEAM-based diffusion tensor imaging provides a robust assessment of muscle tears in football players: preliminary results of a new approach to evaluate muscle injuries.

Objectives: To assess acute muscle tears in professional football players by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and evaluate the impact of normalization of data.

Methods: Eight football players with acute lower limb muscle tears were examined. DTI metrics of the injured muscle and corresponding healthy contralateral muscle and of ROIs drawn in muscle tears (ROI) in the corresponding healthy contralateral muscle (ROI) in a healthy area ipsilateral to the injury (ROI) and in a corresponding contralateral area (ROI) were compared.

Weighted Mean of Signal Intensity for Unbiased Fiber Tracking of Skeletal Muscles: Development of a New Method and Comparison With Other Correction Techniques.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the origin of random image artifacts in stimulated echo acquisition mode diffusion tensor imaging (STEAM-DTI), assess the role of averaging, develop an automated artifact postprocessing correction method using weighted mean of signal intensities (WMSIs), and compare it with other correction techniques.

Materials And Methods: Institutional review board approval and written informed consent were obtained. The right calf and thigh of 10 volunteers were scanned on a 3 T magnetic resonance imaging scanner using a STEAM-DTI sequence.

Fast Early Recovery After Transabdominal Preperitoneal Repair in Athletes with Sportsman's Groin: A Prospective Clinical Cohort Study.

Background: Current literature on chronic groin pain suggests that laparoscopic mesh repair on athletes enables a faster recovery and subsequent return to unrestricted athletic activities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) mesh repair in athletes resistant to conservative therapy.

Methods: A multidisciplinary approach with tailored physiotherapy.

Equine articular chondrocytes on MACT scaffolds for cartilage defect treatment.

Treatment of cartilage defects poses challenging problems in human and veterinary medicine, especially in horses. This study examines the suitability of applying scaffold materials similar to those used for human cartilage regeneration on equine chondrocytes. Chondrocytes gained from biopsies of the talocrural joint of three horses were propagated in 2D culture and grown on two different scaffold materials, hyaluronan (HYAFF®) and collagen (BioGide®), and evaluated by light and electron microscopy.

Detection of urolithiasis using low-dose CT--a noise simulation study.

How does an acquisition at reduced doses using automatic tube current modulation techniques compare to the normal standard dose CT? Does it affect the sensitivity for detection of calcifications? CT raw data of 54 patients with suspected urolithiasis acquired with automatic tube current modulation techniques were used for image noise simulations with 100%, 50% and 25% dose simulated. Data were analyzed by independent readers with regard to the presence of urolithiasis, stone location, size, density and differential diagnoses. The mean effective dose per standard examination/50%/25% simulation was 7.

Three-dimensional magnetic resonance observation of cartilage repair tissue (MOCART) score assessed with an isotropic three-dimensional true fast imaging with steady-state precession sequence at 3.0 Tesla.

Introduction: Cartilage defects are common pathologies and surgical cartilage repair shows promising results. In its postoperative evaluation, the magnetic resonance observation of cartilage repair tissue (MOCART) score, using different variables to describe the constitution of the cartilage repair tissue and the surrounding structures, is widely used. High-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and 3-dimensional (3D) isotropic sequences may combine ideal preconditions to enhance the diagnostic performance of cartilage imaging.

Magnetic resonance imaging for diagnosis and assessment of cartilage defect repairs.

Clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the method of choice for the non-invasive evaluation of articular cartilage defects and the follow-up of cartilage repair procedures. The use of cartilage-sensitive sequences and a high spatial-resolution technique enables the evaluation of cartilage morphology even in the early stages of disease, as well as assessment of cartilage repair. Sequences that offer high contrast between articular cartilage and adjacent structures, such as the fat-suppressed, 3-dimensional, spoiled gradient-echo sequence and the fast spin-echo sequence, are accurate and reliable for evaluating intrachondral lesions and surface defects of articular cartilage.

Computer-assisted surgery of cartilage defects in the knee: comparison of rigid-body fixation techniques in a human cadaver study.

This experimental cadaver study assessed computer navigation for the arthroscopic measurement of full-thickness cartilage defects in the knee joint. Cartilage defects were measured during arthroscopy using three cartilage defect-managing modules to compare fixed (invasive) and noninvasive rigid-body fixations. The comparison of all three systems tested revealed a difference between the noninvasive and the fixed rigid-body fixation, with a mean value of 0.

The functional outcome of total tears of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the skeletally immature patient.

Tears of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the skeletally immature patient are becoming more prevalent. The aim of this study was to describe the functional outcome and to evaluate the best management of total tears of the ACL in skeletally immature patient. Twenty consecutive, skeletally immature patients with a clinically evident rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament were followed up for a mean of 5.

The removal of a dislocated femoral interference screw through a posteromedial portal.

The intra-articular migration of a femoral interference screw is a rare complication after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction in the knee. Only a few reports of cases have been published within the last few years and different approaches toward this complication have been described. We report the case of a 23-year-old female patient who was admitted with knee pain after undergoing an ACL reconstruction 4 years previously.

Cartilage repair: generations of autologous chondrocyte transplantation.

Articular cartilage in adults has a limited capacity for self-repair after a substantial injury. Surgical therapeutic efforts to treat cartilage defects have focused on delivering new cells capable of chondrogenesis into the lesions. Autologous chondrocyte transplantation (ACT) is an advanced cell-based orthobiologic technology used for the treatment of chondral defects of the knee that has been in clinical use since 1987 and has been performed on 12,000 patients internationally.

Early postoperative adherence of matrix-induced autologous chondrocyte implantation for the treatment of full-thickness cartilage defects of the femoral condyle.

Matrix-induced autologous chondrocyte implantation (MACI) is a tissue-engineering technique for the treatment of full-thickness articular cartilage defects and requires the use of a three-dimensional collagen type I-III membrane seeded with cultured autologous chondrocytes. The cell-scaffold construct is implanted in the debrided cartilage defect and fixed only with fibrin glue, with no periosteal cover or further surgical fixation. In a clinical pilot study, the MACI technique was used for the treatment of full-thickness, weight-bearing chondral defects of the femoral condyle in 16 patients.

Definition of pertinent parameters for the evaluation of articular cartilage repair tissue with high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging.

To evaluate articular cartilage repair tissue after biological cartilage repair, we propose a new technique of non-invasive, high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and define a new classification system. For the definition of pertinent variables the repair tissue of 45 patients treated with three different techniques for cartilage repair (microfracture, autologous osteochondral transplantation, and autologous chondrocyte transplantation) was analyzed 6 and 12 months after the procedure. High-resolution imaging was obtained with a surface phased array coil placed over the knee compartment of interest and adapted sequences were used on a 1 T MRI scanner.

[Autologous chondrocyte transplantation for the treatment of articular cartilage defects inf the knee joint. Techniques and results].

Background: Currently the use of autologous chondrocytes as a cartilage-repair procedure for the repair of injured articular cartilage of the knee joint, is recommended.

Methods: This review presents the technique of autologous chondrocyte transplantation (ACT) and their modifications as matrix-associated autologous chondrocyte transplantation (MACT). Beside the surgical procedure the experimental and clinical results are discussed.

[Therapeutic options in the treatment of cartilage defects. Techniques and indications].

Background: Cartilage is composed of chondrocytes embedded within an extracellular matrix of collagens, proteoglycans, and noncollagenous proteins. Together, these structures maintain the unique mechanical properties and manifest its striking inability to heal even the most minor injury.

Methods: This review presents the principles of cartilage structure and the biological background of cartilage repair and gives information about the surgical techniques for treating cartilage defects.

Urinary tract infections beyond the early post-transplant period in pediatric renal graft recipients.

Background: Urinary tract infection is a frequent bacterial complication after renal transplantation in adults and children, however there are only very limited data on children beyond the early post-transplant period. In this study we investigated urinary tract infections in pediatric outpatients who had received transplants more than six months previously. Incidence, risk factors and impact on short-term graft function were analyzed.