Publications by authors named "Schmal H"

Introduction: The medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) is the main patellar stabilizer in low knee flexion degrees (0-30°). Isolated MPFL reconstruction (MPFLr) is therefore considered the gold standard of surgical procedures for low flexion patellofemoral instabilities (PFIs). Despite excellent clinical results, little is known about the effect of MPFLr on kinematic parameters (KPs) of the patellofemoral joint in vivo.

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Background And Purpose:  Major lower extremity amputation (MLEA) is associated with complications that may prolong length of hospital stay (LOS) and increase the risk of readmission. We primarily aimed to examine the LOS and risk of readmissions after MLEA in Denmark. Secondarily we investigated the time trends.

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Introduction: In November 2022, OpenAI launched ChatGPT for public use through a free online platform. ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot trained on a broad dataset encompassing a wide range of topics, including medical literature. The usability in the medical field and the quality of AI-generated responses are widely discussed and are the subject of current investigations.

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Background: Evidence on how to improve daily physical activity (PA) levels following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) or medial uni-compartmental knee arthroplasty (mUKA) by motivational feedback is lacking. Moreover, it is unknown whether a focus on increased PA after discharge from the hospital improves rehabilitation, physical function, and quality of life. The aim of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) nested in a prospective cohort is (a) to investigate whether PA, physical function, and quality of life following knee replacement can be increased using an activity monitoring device including motivational feedback via a patient app in comparison with activity monitoring without feedback (care-as-usual), and (b) to investigate the potential predictive value of PA level prior to knee replacement for the length of stay, return to work, and quality of life.

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Purpose: Different cartilage repair techniques are widely used to regenerate cartilage, such as autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI), osteochondral autograft transfer, microfracturing and minced cartilage. Defect size is a key parameter for selecting the best procedure to repair cartilage. However, the defect's size is not related to the patient's total cartilage surface.

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The surgical treatment of bony non-unions is traditionally performed with additional bone grafts when atrophic and/or stronger implants when hypertrophic. In the case of the clavicle shaft, however, in our experience, a more controversial method where no additional bone graft is needed leads to equally good consolidation rates, independent of the non-union morphology. This method requires the meticulous anatomical reconstruction of the initial fracture and fixation according to the AO principle of relative stability.

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The aim of the study was to compare conventional sintering with additive manufacturing techniques for β-TCP bioceramics, focusing on mechanical properties and biocompatibility. A "critical" bone defect requires surgical intervention beyond simple stabilization. Autologous bone grafting is the gold standard treatment for such defects, but it has its limitations.

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Introduction: Intervertebral disk degeneration is a growing problem in our society. The degeneration of the intervertebral disk leads to back pain and in some cases to a herniated disk. Advanced disk degeneration can be treated surgically with either a vertebral body fusion or a disk prosthesis.

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Bone infections are still a major problem in surgery. To avoid severe side effects of systemically administered antibiotics, local antibiotic therapy is increasingly being considered. Using a pressure-based method developed in our group, microporous β-TCP ceramics, which had previously been characterized, were loaded with 2% w/v alginate containing 50 mg/mL clindamycin and 10 µg/mL rhBMP-2.

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Background: To evaluate T1ρ relaxation mapping in patients with symptomatic talar osteochondral lesions (OLT) and healthy controls (HC) at rest, with axial loading and traction.

Methods: Participants underwent 3-T ankle magnetic resonance imaging at rest and with 500 N loading and 120 N traction, without axial traction for a subcohort of 17/29 HC. We used a fast low-angle shot sequence with variable spin-lock intervals for monoexponential T1ρ fitting.

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Background: In ACL reconstruction, it is desirable to assess preoperatively whether a sufficient graft diameter can be achieved with the planned tendon graft. The present study investigated the effect of the location of the cross-sectional area (CSA) measurement of the hamstring tendons in preoperative MRI on the correlation of the CSA with the intraoperative graft diameter. In addition, we analyzed whether the measurement results of examiners with different skill levels were comparable.

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Background And Purpose: Mortality after major lower extremity amputations is high and may depend on amputation level. We aimed to examine the mortality risk in the first year after major lower extremity amputation divided into transtibial and transfemoral amputations.

Methods: This observational cohort study used data from the Danish Nationwide Health registers.

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Background: Antibiotic-containing carrier systems are one option that offers the advantage of releasing active ingredients over a longer period of time. In vitro sustained drug release from a carrier system consisting of microporous β-TCP ceramic and alginate has been reported in previous works. Alginate dialdehyde (ADA) gelatin gel showed both better mechanical properties when loaded into a β-TCP ceramic and higher biodegradability than pure alginate.

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Article Synopsis
  • Medial malleolar osteotomies (MMO) are often utilized in treating severe osteochondral lesions of the talus (OCLT) to enhance access, despite potential risks.
  • A study analyzing data from the German Cartilage Register found that MMO had a prevalence of 15.9%, mainly in serious cases and during revision surgeries, without significant impact on patient-reported outcomes.
  • The findings suggest that while MMO is performed frequently for severe OCLT, it does not lead to better functional outcomes compared to standard surgical approaches.
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This study was designed to provide information on how the menisci change over the course of osteoarthritis, particularly with regard to their mechanical properties. The aim was to determine the difference between healthy menisci (fresh frozen meniscal transplants) and menisci harvested during total knee arthroplasty. The latter allows the grading of age-related and osteoarthritic changes in the menisci on macroscopic and microscopic levels.

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Background: Physiological 0.9% saline is commonly used as an irrigation fluid in modern arthroscopy. There is a growing body of evidence that a hyperosmolar saline solution has chondroprotective effects, especially if iatrogenic injury occurs.

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We introduce an in-vivo validated finite element (FE) simulation approach for predicting individual knee joint kinematics. Our vision is to improve clinicians' understanding of the complex individual anatomy and potential pathologies to improve treatment and restore physiological joint kinematics. Our 3D FE modeling approach for individual human knee joints is based on segmentation of anatomical structures extracted from routine static magnetic resonance (MR) images.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to review the fixation methods for distal, extra-articular femur fractures to assess rates of non-union, wound infections, blood loss, and surgery duration, comparing reamed intramedullary nailing (RIMN) with plate fixation.
  • Research was conducted systematically following PRISMA guidelines, reviewing 9 studies that included 639 patients with a focus on significant outcomes like infection rates and non-union.
  • Results showed no statistically significant differences in wound infections or non-union rates between RIMN and plate fixation, suggesting that the choice of treatment should be individualized based on patient circumstances.
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Background And Purpose: Re-amputation after lower extremity amputation is frequent. The primary aim of our study was to investigate cumulative re-amputation risk after transtibial amputation (TTA), knee disarticulation (KD), and transfemoral amputation (TFA) and secondarily to investigate time to re-amputation, and risk factors.

Methods: This observational cohort study was based on data from the Danish Nationwide Health registers.

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With the conventional mechanical rotation measurement of joints, only static measurements are possible with the patient at rest. In the future, it would be interesting to carry out dynamic rotation measurements, for example, when walking or participating in sports. Therefore, a measurement method with an elastic polymer-based capacitive measuring system was developed and validated.

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Background: The treatment of grafts with vancomycin for ligament reconstruction in knee surgery is the current standard. However, high antibiotic concentrations have chondrotoxic effects.

Purpose: To test the chondrotoxicity of clindamycin, gentamicin and vancomycin in comparable concentrations.

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Background: Patellar fractures have a comparatively low incidence compared to all fracture frequencies of the musculoskeletal system. However, surgical management is crucial to prevent postoperative complications that affect the knee joint. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the incidence of postoperative complications and onset of postoperative osteoarthritis related to the chosen technique of patellar fracture management.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Using an online questionnaire in summer 2021, the study found that 89.6% of the 1,678 respondents reported health complaints, with significant increases in musculoskeletal pain and psychological distress compared to before the pandemic.
  • * The research highlighted that certain factors, like being male, older, having children, and working from home, were linked to better mental health, and emphasized the need for targeted prevention strategies to support these workers, particularly in high-stress patient-related roles.
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Article Synopsis
  • The research group wanted to create a new sensor system to measure how flexible the knee is, especially for people at risk of ACL injuries.
  • They tested 11 people by putting sensors on their skin and moving their knees to see how much the bone rotated internally.
  • The sensors worked well and showed that women tend to have looser knees than men, which could help in better testing and understanding knee injuries in the future.
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