Does soft tissue balancing using intraoperative pressure sensors improve clinical outcomes in total knee arthroplasty? A protocol of a multicentre randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Soft tissue imbalance is considered to be a major surgical cause of dissatisfaction following total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Surgeon-determined manual assessment of ligament tension has been shown to be a poor determinant of the true knee balance state. The recent introduction of intraoperative sensors, however, allows surgeons to precisely quantify knee compartment pressures and tibiofemoral kinematics, thereby optimising coronal and sagittal plane soft tissue balance.

Image intensifier distortion influences a surgeon's ability to aim guidewires during orthopaedic procedures.

Objective: Accurate insertion of a guidewire under image intensifier guidance is a fundamental skill required by orthopaedic surgeons. This study investigated how image intensifier distortion, which is composed of pin-cushion and sigmoidal components, changed the apparent trajectory of a guidewire, and the resulting deviation between the intended and actual guidewire tip position.

Materials And Methods: Intraoperative image intensifier images for 220 consecutive patients with hip fractures were retrospectively corrected for distortion using a global polynomial method.

Tibial rotation kinematics subsequent to knee arthroplasty.

Background: The use of computer assisted joint replacement has facilitated precise intraoperative measurement of knee kinematics. The changes in "screw home mechanism" (SHM) resulting from Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) with different prostheses and constraints has not yet been accurately described.

Methods: A pilot study was first completed.

The Australian arthroplasty thromboprophylaxis survey.

Previous surveys of orthopedic surgeons have shown considerable variation in thromboprophylaxis for venous thromboembolism after joint arthroplasty. This survey aimed to determine the current practice among Australian orthopedic surgeons. A questionnaire regarding the duration, reasons, and methods of chemical and mechanical prophylaxis for hip and knee arthroplasty patients was sent to the 1082 surgeons identified; 593 (55%) members completed the questionnaire.

Minimally invasive imageless computer-navigated knee surgery: initial results.

The combination of imageless computer-aided surgery (CAS) and minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has not been reported. This study presents the initial 30 procedures in which imageless CAS was combined with MIS for TKA by the senior author. Coronal alignment of femoral and tibial components with respect to the mechanical axis of the lower limb was measured when patients could achieve full extension.

Open reduction of intracapsular hip fractures using a modified Smith-Petersen surgical exposure.

The Smith-Petersen or modified direct anterior hip surgical exposures have not previously been described for open reduction of femoral neck fractures. This technique of reduction provides a direct approach to the femoral neck and hip joint. Displaced fractures of the femoral neck can easily be reduced through this approach, local osseus defects resulting from impaction can be supported with bone graft, and fracture fixation is then placed through a separate lateral exposure or through small stab incisions.