Obesity is associated with worse outcomes following total knee/hip arthroplasty (TKA/TKA). This study aimed to determine the feasibility of a dietitian-led low-inflammatory weight-loss program for people with obesity awaiting arthroplasty.

Quasi-experimental pilot study enrolled people with obesity waitlisted for primary TKA/THA into ‘usual care’ (UC) or weight-loss (low-inflammatory diet) program (Diet). Recruitment occurred between July 2019 and February 2020 at Fairfield and Campbelltown Hospitals. Assessments at baseline, pre-surgery, time of surgery and 90-days following surgery included anthropometric measurements, patient-reported outcomes, serum biomarkers and 90-day postoperative complication rate.

97 people consented to the study (UC, n=47, mean age 67, BMI 37, TKA 79%; Diet, n=50, mean age 66, BMI 36, TKA 72%). Baseline characteristics indicated gross joint impairments and poor compliance with a low-inflammatory diet. Study feasibility criteria included recruitment rate (52%), proportion of diet patients that improved compliance to low-inflammatory diet by ≥10% (57%) and had ≥60% attendance of dietitian consultations (72%), proportion of patients who undertook serum biomarkers (55%).

By presurgery assessments, the diet group had more patients who cancelled their surgery due to symptom improvement (4 vs 0), reduced waist-circumference measurements, increased compliance with the Low-Inflammatory diet and preservation of physical activity parameters. More usual care participants experienced at least one postoperative complication to 90-days (59% vs 47%) and were discharged to inpatient rehabilitation (21% vs 11%). There was no difference in weight change, physical function, and patient-reported outcome measures from pre-surgery to 90-days post-surgery, and length of hospital stay.

Using pre-determined feasibility criteria, conducting a definitive trial is not feasible. However, intervention audit demonstrated high intervention fidelity.

Pilot data suggest our program may promote weight loss but the clinical effects for most are modest. Further research utilising a stronger intervention may be required to assess the effectiveness of a pre-arthroplasty weight-loss intervention.

Purpose

Assess and report the functional and post-operative outcomes of complex acute radial head fractures with elbow instability treated by arthroplasty using an uncemented modular anatomic prosthesis.

Purpose: Congenital proximal radioulnar synostosis is a rare anomaly of failure of segmentation of the radius and ulna resulting in a fixed rotational position of the forearm from neutral to maximum pronation. Several surgical options have been proposed for the treatment of this condition. We have treated six forearms in five children with pronation deformity using derotational osteotomies of the radius and ulna with postoperative wire stabilisation of the ulna. The surgical technique and results of treatment with this method are presented.

Methods: With this technique, osteotomies were performed at the midshaft of the ulna and the distal diaph-yseal-metaphyseal junction of the radius. The insertion of intramedullary Ilizarov wires facilitated manual derotation of the radius and ulna to a functional position of 100 supination of the forearm. Postoperatively, the forearm was immobilised in a cast for an average of 6.3 weeks and the wire was removed when there was evidence of union. 3 boys and 2 girls with a mean age of 4.9 years underwent surgery with this method and were followed-up for an average of 29 months (range 12 to 43 months).

Results: Forearm position improved from an average pronation deformity of 68.3 degrees to the pre-planned position of 100 degrees supination in all cases. Bone union was achieved in all six forearms by 6.3 weeks. At their most recent follow-up, there was no loss of correction evident in any of the patients. There was one complication, namely haematoma formation at the radial osteotomy site mimicking compartment syndrome and requiring exploration, although no soft tissue compromise was evident.

Conclusion: The principal advantages of this technique include the ease of the surgical approach for the distal radial osteotomy, the longterm maintenance of rotational correction and the need for single wire stabilisation of the ulna only, which in theory reduces the potential risk of implant-related complications. We conclude that this modified forearm derotational osteotomy with wire stabilisation of the ulna alone is a safe and effective method for treating pronation deformity in children with congenital proximal radioulnar synostosis, although vigilance for early soft tissue complications is necessary.