Injuries to the quadriceps muscle group are common in athletes performing high-speed running and kicking sports. The complex anatomy of the rectus femoris puts it at greatest risk of injury. There is variability in prognosis in the literature, with reinjury rates as high as 67% in the severe graded proximal tear. Studies have highlighted that athletes can reinjure after nonoperative management, and some benefit may be derived from surgical repair to restore function and return to sport (RTS). This injury is potentially career-threatening in the elite-level athlete, and we aim to highlight the key recent literature on interventions to restore strength and function to allow early RTS while reducing the risk of injury recurrence. This article reviews the optimal diagnostic strategies and classification of quadriceps injuries. We highlight the unique anatomy of each injury on MRI and the outcomes of both nonoperative and operative treatment, providing an evidence-based management framework for athletes. Cite this article:
Over the past 30 years there have been many improvements
in implant fixation, correction of deformity, improved polyethylene
wear, and survival after knee replacement. The work over the last
decade has focused on less invasive surgical techniques, multimodal
pain management protocols, more rapid functional recovery and reduced
length of stay, aiming to minimise the side effects of treatment
while maintaining function and implant durability. When combined
and standardised these pre-, intra- and post-operative factors have
now facilitated outpatient knee replacement procedures for unicompartmental
replacement, patella femoral arthroplasty and total knee replacement
(TKR). We have found liposomal bupivacaine, with potential for longer
therapeutic action, to be a helpful adjunct and describe our current
pain management program. The next step in our multimodal program
is to improve the duration of patient satisfaction and reduce cost
and length of stay after TKR. Cite this article:
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains an immediate
threat to patients following total hip and knee replacement. While
there is a strong consensus that steps should be taken to minimise
the risk to patients by utilising some forms of prophylaxis for
the vast majority of patients, the methods utilised have been extremely
variable. Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have been published
by various professional organisations for over 25 years to provide recommendations
to standardise VTE prophylaxis. Historically, these recommendations
have varied widely depending in underlying assumptions, goals, and
methodology of the various groups. This effort has previously been
exemplified by the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) and
the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). The former
group of medical specialists targeted minimising venographically
proven deep vein thrombosis (DVT) (the vast majority of which are
asymptomatic) as their primary goal prior to 2012. The latter group of
surgeons targeted minimising symptomatic VTE. As a result prior
to 2012, the recommendations of the two groups were widely divergent.
In the past year, both groups have reassessed the current literature
with the principal goals of minimising symptomatic VTE events and
bleeding complications. As a result, for the first time the CPGs
of these two major subspecialty organisations are in close agreement.
Despite advances in contemporary hip and knee
arthroplasty, blood loss continues to be an issue. Though blood transfusion
has long been used to treat post-operative anemia, the associated
risks are well established. The objective of this article is to
present two practical and effective approaches to minimising blood
loss and transfusion rates in hip and knee arthroplasty: the use
of antifibrinolytic medications such as tranexamic acid and the
adoption of more conservative transfusion indications.
Most proximal humeral fractures are stable injuries of the ageing population, and can be successfully treated non-operatively. The management of the smaller number of more complex displaced fractures is more controversial and new fixation techniques have greatly increased the range of fractures that may benefit from surgery. This article explores current concepts in the classification and clinical aspects of these injuries, reviewing the indications, innovations and outcomes for the most common methods of treatment.
High energy fractures of the pelvis are a challenging problem both in the immediate post-injury phase and later when definitive fixation is undertaken. No single management algorithm can be applied because of associated injuries and the wide variety of trauma systems that have evolved around the world. Initial management is aimed at saving life and this is most likely to be achieved with an approach that seeks to identify and treat life-threatening injuries in order of priority. Early mortality after a pelvic fracture is most commonly due to major haemorrhage or catastrophic brain injury. In this article we review the role of pelvic binders, angiographic embolisation, pelvic packing, early internal fixation and blood transfusion with regard to controlling haemorrhage. Definitive fixation seeks to prevent deformity and reduce complications. We believe this should be undertaken by specialist surgeons in a hospital resourced, equipped and staffed to manage the whole spectrum of major trauma. We describe the most common modes of internal fixation by injury type and review the factors that influence delayed mortality, adverse functional outcome, sexual dysfunction and venous thromboembolism.
The sternoclavicular joint is vulnerable to the same disease processes as other synovial joints, the most common of which are instability from injury, osteoarthritis, infection and rheumatoid disease. Patients may also present with other conditions, which are unique to the joint, or are manifestations of a systemic disease process. The surgeon should be aware of these possibilities when assessing a patient with a painful, swollen sternoclavicular joint.
Complex regional pain syndrome is characterised by an exaggerated response to injury in a limb with intense prolonged pain, vasomotor disturbance, delayed functional recovery and trophic changes. This review describes the current knowledge of the condition and outlines the methods of treatment available with particular emphasis on the knee.
The operative treatment of displaced fractures of the tibial plateau is challenging. Recent developments in the techniques of internal fixation, including the development of locked plating and minimal invasive techniques have changed the treatment of these fractures. We review current surgical approaches and techniques, improved devices for internal fixation and the clinical outcome after utilisation of new methods for locked plating.
The management of patients with a painful total knee replacement requires careful assessment and a stepwise approach in order to diagnose the underlying pathology accurately. The management should include a multidisciplinary approach to the patient’s pain as well as addressing the underlying aetiology. Pain should be treated with appropriate analgesia, according to the analgesic ladder of the World Health Organisation. Special measures should be taken to identify and to treat any neuropathic pain. There are a number of intrinsic and extrinsic causes of a painful knee replacement which should be identified and treated early. Patients with unexplained pain and without any recognised pathology should be treated conservatively since they may improve over a period of time and rarely do so after a revision operation.
Orthopaedic outcome measures are used to evaluate the effect of operative interventions. They are used for audit and research. Knowledge of these measures is becoming increasingly important with league tables comparing surgeons and hospitals being made accessible to the profession and the general public. Several types of tool are available to describe outcome after hip surgery such as generic quality-of-life questionnaires, disease-specific quality-of-life questionnaires, hip-specific outcome measures and general short-term clinical measures. We provide an overview of the outcome measures commonly used to evaluate hip interventions.
With the development of systems of trauma care the management of pelvic disruption has evolved and has become increasingly refined. The goal is to achieve an anatomical reduction and stable fixation of the fracture. This requires adequate visualisation for reduction of the fracture and the placement of fixation. Despite the advances in surgical approach and technique, the functional outcomes do not always produce the desired result. New methods of percutaneous treatment in conjunction with innovative computer-based imaging have evolved in an attempt to overcome the existing difficulties. This paper presents an overview of the technical aspects of percutaneous surgery of the pelvis and acetabulum.
