Aims. Body exhaust suits or surgical helmet systems (colloquially, ‘space suits’) are frequently used in many forms of arthroplasty, with the aim of providing personal protection to surgeons and, perhaps, reducing periprosthetic joint infections, although this has not consistently been borne out in systematic reviews and registry studies. To date, no large-scale study has investigated whether this is applicable to shoulder arthroplasty. We used the New Zealand Joint Registry to assess whether the use of surgical helmet systems was associated with lower all-cause revision or revision for
Aims. The aim of this study was to report the mid-term clinical outcome
of cemented unlinked J-alumina ceramic elbow (JACE) arthroplasties
when used in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patients and Methods. We retrospectively reviewed 87 elbows, in 75 patients with RA,
which was replaced using a cemented JACE total elbow arthroplasty
(TEA) between August 2003 and December 2012, with a follow-up of
96%. There were 72 women and three men, with a mean age of 62 years
(35 to 79). The mean follow-up was nine years (2 to 14). The clinical condition
of each elbow before and after surgery was assessed using the Mayo
Elbow Performance Index (MEPI, 0 to 100 points). Radiographic loosening
was defined as a progressive radiolucent line of >1 mm that was
completely circumferential around the prosthesis. Results. The mean MEPI scores significantly improved from 40 (10 to 75)
points preoperatively to 95 (30 to 100) points at final follow-up
(p < 0.0001). Complications were noted in ten elbows (ten patients;
11%). Two had an intraoperative humeral fracture which was treated
by fixation and united. One had a postoperative fracture of the
olecranon which united with conservative treatment and one had a
radial neuropathy which resolved. Further surgery was required for
one with a dislocation, three with an ulnar neuropathy and one with
a postoperative humeral fracture. Revision with removal of the components
was performed in one elbow due to
