Publications by authors named "Stephen D Zoller"

Article Synopsis
  • Ganglion cysts are the most common soft-tissue masses found in the hand and wrist, typically occurring at the wrist's dorsal or volar sides, and may also develop from various tendons and joints.
  • Diagnosis mainly relies on medical history and physical exams, with additional tools like transillumination, aspiration, and imaging used to rule out other conditions or solid masses.
  • Treatment options include observation, aspiration with possible steroid injection, and surgical excision, with over 50% of patients seeing resolution without surgery; however, surgery can have a recurrence rate of 7% to 39%.
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The distal radioulnar joint is a complex anatomic structure that allows for a combination of rotation and translation with extrinsic and intrinsic stabilizers that maintain stability through a delicate equilibrium. Traumatic, congenital, inflammatory, and degenerative processes can disturb this sensitive balance, resulting in distal radioulnar joint arthritis. We discuss the joint's anatomy and biomechanics and the clinical approach to the patient.

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Implant related infections are the most common cause of joint arthroplasty failure, requiring revision surgeries and a new implant, resulting in a cost of $8.6 billion annually. To address this problem, we created a class of coating technology that is applied in the operating room, in a procedure that takes less than 10 min, and can incorporate any desired antibiotic.

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Article Synopsis
  • Implant-associated infections are difficult to diagnose and treat, but fluorescent probes offer a non-invasive way to identify the specific bacteria causing these infections.
  • This study compared two fluorescent probes—Vanco-800CW and 1D9-680—specifically for their effectiveness in detecting Staphylococcus aureus biofilm infections on spinal implants using optical imaging.
  • The 1D9-680 probe outperformed the other, and was successfully tested for use in different infection models, leading to the development of an image-guided surgery system to aid in the removal of infected tissue.
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Article Synopsis
  • - Extremity reconstruction surgeries are becoming more common for patients with significant bone loss, sparking debate over whether to use metal implants or allograft bone as void fillers in these procedures.
  • - Recent research indicates that the risk of infection might be higher with allograft bone compared to metal, challenging previous assumptions.
  • - A study using mice uncovered that allograft bone harbors a much larger bacterial load from Staphylococcus aureus, and it can create immune-evading microabscesses, suggesting a need to rethink how we approach infections in bone treatments.
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Spine implant infections portend poor outcomes as diagnosis is challenging and surgical eradication is at odds with mechanical spinal stability. The purpose of this method is to describe a novel mouse model of spinal implant infection (SII) that was created to provide an inexpensive, rapid, and accurate in vivo tool to test potential therapeutics and treatment strategies for spinal implant infections. In this method, we present a model of posterior-approach spinal surgery in which a stainless-steel k-wire is transfixed into the L4 spinous process of 12-week old C57BL/6J wild-type mice and inoculated with 1 x 10 CFU of a bioluminescent strain of Staphylococcus aureus Xen36 bacteria.

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Background: There is scant evidence to guide decision-making for patients considering total femoral replacement (TFR). We aimed to identify the indication, patient, disease, and surgical technique-related factors associated with failure. We hypothesized that failure occurs more frequently in the setting of revision surgical procedures, with infection as the predominant failure mode.

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Background: Animal models are used to guide management of periprosthetic implant infections. No adequate model exists for periprosthetic shoulder infections, and clinicians thus have no preclinical tools to assess potential therapeutics. We hypothesize that it is possible to establish a mouse model of shoulder implant infection (SII) that allows noninvasive, longitudinal tracking of biofilm and host response through in vivo optical imaging.

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Background: There is a new method of transportation that started in our community in late 2017- rideshare electric scooters (e-scooters). These scooters have proven immensely popular and can now be found in many cities around the world. Despite the pervasiveness of e-scooters, their associated injury patterns are poorly understood.

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Intramedullary fixation of proximal tibia fractures remains a challenging surgical technique, with malalignment reported as high as 84%. The pull from the extensor mechanism, the hamstring and iliotibial band, in addition to the lack of endosteal fit from the nail, has made surgical fixation of these fractures difficult. Commonly held principles to reduce angular deformity include ensuring adequate imaging, obtaining an optimal start and trajectory for the implant, and obtaining and maintaining a reduction throughout the duration of the procedure.

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Background: Intrawound vancomycin powder (VP) has been rapidly adopted in spine surgery with apparent benefit demonstrated in limited, retrospective studies. Randomized trials, basic science, and dose response studies are scarce.

Purpose: This study aims to test the efficacy and dose effect of VP over an extended time course within a randomized, controlled in vivo animal experiment.

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Study Design: A controlled, interventional animal study.

Objective: Spinal implant infection (SII) is a devastating complication. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a novel implant coating that has both a passive antibiotic elution and an active-release mechanism triggered in the presence of bacteria, using an in vivo mouse model of SII.

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Implants and their technological advances have been a critical component of musculoskeletal care for almost a century. Modern implants are designed to enhance bone ingrowth, promote soft-tissue healing, and prevent infection. Porous metals and short-stem fixation devices have rendered previously unreconstructable bony deficits reconstructable.

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Spine implant infections portend disastrous outcomes, as diagnosis is challenging and surgical eradication is at odds with mechanical spinal stability. Current imaging modalities can detect anatomical alterations and anomalies but cannot differentiate between infection and aseptic loosening, diagnose specific pathogens, or delineate the extent of an infection. Herein, a fully human monoclonal antibody 1D9, recognizing the immunodominant staphylococcal antigen A on the surface of Staphylococcus aureus, was assessed as a nuclear and fluorescent imaging probe in a preclinical model of S.

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Limb salvage is widely practiced as standard of care in most cases of extremity bone sarcoma. Allograft and endoprosthesis reconstructions are the most widely utilized modalities for the reconstruction of large segment defects, however complication rates remain high. Aseptic loosening and infection remain the most common modes of failure.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study highlights the importance of expert witness testimony in orthopaedic surgery malpractice cases and examines the characteristics of these witnesses from 2013 to 2017.
  • The research found that a greater number of expert witnesses testified for plaintiffs compared to defendants, with general orthopaedists being the most common type on both sides.
  • Key differences emerged between plaintiff and defense witnesses, including years of experience, academic involvement, fellowship training, and scholarly impact, indicating potential biases in expert testimony.
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Background: Although there is widespread acceptance of core needle biopsy (CNB) for diagnosing solid tumors, there is reluctance by some clinicians to use CNB for aneurysmal bone cysts (ABCs) as a result of concerns of safety (bleeding, nerve injury, fracture, readmission, or infection) and reliability, particularly to rule out malignant diagnoses like telangiectatic osteosarcoma. This is especially true when CNB tissue is sent from an outside hospital, where the technique used to obtain the tissue may be spurious.

Questions/purposes: (1) Is CNB effective (provided adequate information to indicate appropriate surgical treatment without further open biopsy) as an initial diagnostic test for ABC? (2) Is CNB accurate (pathology consistent with the subsequent definitive surgical pathologic diagnosis) in differentiating between benign lesions such as primary or secondary ABCs and malignant radiolucent lesions such as telangiectatic osteosarcoma? (3) What are the complications of CNB? (4) Is there any difference in the effectiveness or accuracy of CNB performed at outside institutions when compared with a referral center?

Methods: A retrospective study of our musculoskeletal tumor board pathology database (1990-2016) was performed using search criteria "aneurysmal bone cyst" or "telangiectatic osteosarcoma.

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Background And Objective: Cemented endoprosthetic reconstruction after resection of primary bone sarcomas has been a standard-of-care option for decades. With increased patient survival, the incidence of failed endoprostheses requiring revision surgery has increased. Revision of cemented endoprotheses by cementing into the existing cement mantle (CiC) is technically demanding.

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Background: Despite recent advances, infection remains the most common etiology of arthroplasty failure. Recent work suggests that 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25D) deficiency correlates with the frequency of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). We endeavored to examine whether 25D3 deficiency leads to increased bacterial burden in vivo in an established mouse model of PJI and, if so, whether this effect can be reversed by preoperative 25D3 supplementation.

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Background: The Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF) is the leading specialty-specific nongovernmental organization providing orthopaedic funding in the United States. As extramural research funding has become increasingly difficult to acquire, one mission of the OREF is to support investigators to generate data needed to secure larger extramural funding from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The objectives of this study were to evaluate the rate of translating OREF faculty-level grants into subsequent NIH funding and to determine if there are identifiable factors that increase the rate of converting an OREF grant into NIH funding.

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Background: Laminectomy with fusion (LF) and laminoplasty are two posterior-based surgical approaches for the surgical treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). The decompressive effect of these approaches is thought to be primarily related to the dorsal drift of the spinal cord away from ventral compressive structures. A lesser known mechanism of spinal cord decompression following cervical LF is regression of the ventral disc osteophyte complexes which is postulated to result from the alteration of motion across the fused motion segment.

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Article Synopsis
  • Management of spine implant infections (SII) is complicated due to the balance between removing infected hardware and the risk of spinal instability or cord damage.
  • A study using a mouse model compared the effectiveness of vancomycin alone versus a combination of vancomycin and rifampin against biofilm-forming Staphylococcus aureus infections.
  • Results showed that while both treatments initially reduced infection signals, they could not completely eliminate the infection, highlighting the need for ongoing monitoring and the limitations of static assessments in evaluating antimicrobial effectiveness.
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Study Design: A retrospective database study.

Objective: The goal of this study was to (1) evaluate the trends in the use of electromyography (EMG) for instrumented posterolateral lumbar fusions (PLFs) in the United States and (2) assess the risk of neurological injury following PLFs with and without EMG.

Summary Of Background Data: Neurologic injuries from iatrogenic pedicle wall breaches during screw placement are known complications of PLFs.

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Aneurysmal bone cysts (ABCs) are benign bone lesions arising predominantly in the pediatric population that can cause local pain, swelling, and pathologic fracture. Primary lesions, which constitute roughly two thirds of all ABCs, are thought to be neoplastic in nature, with one third of ABCs arising secondary to other tumors. Diagnosis is made with various imaging modalities, which exhibit characteristic features such as "fluid-fluid levels," although biopsy is critical, as telangiectatic osteosarcoma cannot be excluded based on imaging alone.

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Purpose: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is increasingly common in adolescents. Time between ACL rupture and surgical reconstruction, surgical wait time, is related to concurrent meniscal tear incidence and possibly tear pattern. This study defines the relationship between meniscal tear characteristics and surgical wait time in adolescents with ACL rupture.

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