PURPOSE. Recently, in tissue engineering several methods using stem cells have been developed to repair chondral and osteochondral defects. Most of these methods rely on the use of scaffolds. Studies in the literature have demonstrated, first in animals and then in humans, that the use of mesenchymal stem cells withdrawn by several methods from adipose tissue allows to regenerate hyaline articular cartilage. In fact, it has been cleared that adipose-derived cells have multipotentiality equivalent to bone marrow-derived stem cells and that they can very easily and very quickly be isolated in large amounts enabling their immediate use in operating room for one-step cartilage repair techniques. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the therapeutic effect of adipose-derived stem cells on cartilage repair and present our experience in the treatment of knee cartilage defects by the novel AMIC REPAIR TECHNIQUE AUGMENTED by immersing the collagen scaffold with mesenchymal stem cells withdrawn from adipose tissue of the abdomen. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Fat tissue processing involves mechanical forces and does not mandatorily require any enzymatic or chemical treatment in order to obtain the regenerative cells from the lipoaspirate. In our study, mesenchymal adipose stem cells were obtained by non-enzymatic filtration or microfragmentation of lipoaspirates of the abdomen adipose tissue that enabled the separation of the stromal vascular fraction and were used in one-step reconstruction of knee cartilage defects by means of this new AUGMENTED AMIC TECHNIQUE. The focal defects underwent bone marrow stimulation microfractures, followed by coverage with collagen double layer resorbable membrane (Chondro-gide. TM. -Geistlich Pharma AG, Wolhusen, Switzerland) soaked in the cells obtained from fat in 18 patients, aged between 31 and 58 years, at the level of the left knee in 10 cases and in the right in eight, with follow-up ranging between 12 and 36 months. RESULTS: Surgical procedures have been completed without technical problems neither intraoperative or early postoperative complications. The evaluation scores (IKDC, KOOS and VAS) showed a significant improvement, more than 30%, at the initial 6 months follow-up and furtherly improved in the subsequent follow-ups. Also the control MRIs showed a progressive filling and maturation of the repair tissue of the defects. CONCLUSIONS. Since we are reporting a short and medium-term experience, it is not, of course, possible to provide conclusive assessment considerations on this technique, as the experience has to mature along with the progression of follow-ups. The simplicity together with the absence of intraoperative difficulties or immediate complications and the experience gained by other authors, first in animals and then in early clinical cases, makes it, however, possible to say that this can be considered one of the techniques to which resort for one-step treatment of cartilage defects in the knee because it improves patient's conditions and has the potential to regenerate hyaline-like cartilage. Future follow-up works will confirm the results

Rotating Hinge total knee replacement designs are currently more frequently used for revision total knee replacement. As the designs of these implants have improved over time, the threshold for using them has been lowered. Cases of global instability and severe bone loss have not been adequately addressed by the standard use of unlinked constrained designs. Recurrent dislocation and polyethylene post failure due to cold flow and wear make the use of the unlinked designs insufficient to address the mechanical forces developed in a grossly unstable knee. The linked rotating hinge designs have been able to address global ligamentous instability in four planes. Medial-lateral instability is well addressed by these implants. In cases of severe ankylosis with large flexion contractures, it is often necessary to resect the distal femur above the femoral insertions of the medial and lateral collateral ligaments. The absence of the tethering effect of severely contracted collateral ligaments demand the need for linked designs, although there has been reported success with the use of unlinked designs. Rotating hinges are particularly important for use in cases of recurvatum where an extension stop is incorporated in the design. The design permits slight hyperextension which permits application to clinical situations with incompetent quadriceps strength or paralysis. The clinical results are quite acceptable even though most reports present 65–75% success rates. However, it should also be stated that these patient cohorts represent the most severe cases of revision surgery. Current hinged designs should continue to lower the threshold for use

Bone fixation plates are routinely used in corrective and reconstructive interventions. Design of such implants must take into consideration not only good surface fit, but also reduced intra-operative bending and twisting of the implant itself. This process increases mechanical stresses within the implant and affects its durability and the functional outcome of the surgery. Wound exposure and anaesthesia times are also reduced. Current population-based designs consider the average shape of a target bone as a template to pre-shape the implant. Other studies try to enhance the average design by optimising surface metrics in a statistical shape space. This could ensure a low mean distance between the implant and any bone in the population, but does not reduce neither the maximum possible distances nor directly the mechanical forces needed to fit the implant to the specific patient. We propose a population-based study that considers the bending and torsion forces as metrics to be minimised for the design of enhanced fixation plates. Our aim is to minimise the necessary intra-operative deformations of the plates. In our approach, we first propose to represent a fixation plate by dividing it into discrete sections lengthwise and fitting a plane to each section. The number of sections depends on the size of the implant and anatomical location. It should be small enough to capture the anatomical curvatures, but large enough not to be affected by local noise in the surface. Surface patches corresponding to common locations for plate fixations are extracted from 200 segmented computed tomography (CT) images. In this work, distal lateral femoral patches are considered. A statistical shape model of the patches is then computed and a large population of 2,197 instances is generated, evenly covering the natural statistical variation within the initial population. These instances are considered as both bone surfaces and potential new designs of the contact surface of the fixation plate. The key formulation of our solution is to examine the effect of deforming each section of the implant on the rest of the sections and compute the amount of bending and torsion needed to shape one patch to another. Each instance of the population is fitted to all others and the maximum bending and torsion angles are recorded. A similar process was applied for the mean of the population. The goal is to pick from the population the shape that simultaneously minimises the bending and torsion angles. The maximum required bending was reduced from 25.3® to 19.3® (24.72% reduction), whereas the torsion component was reduced from 12.4® to 6.2® (50% reduction). The method proposed in this abstract enhances the current state-of-the-art in orthopaedic implant design by considering the mechanical deformations applied to the implant during the surgery. The obtained results are promising and indicate a noticeable improvement over the standard pre-contouring to the population mean. We plan to further validate the method and as a future outlook, we intend to test the approach in real surgical scenarios

Construction of a functional skeleton is accomplished through co-ordination of the developmental processes of chondrogenesis, osteogenesis, and synovial joint formation. Infants whose movement in utero is reduced or restricted and who subsequently suffer from joint dysplasia (including joint contractures) and thin hypo-mineralised bones, demonstrate that embryonic movement is crucial for appropriate skeletogenesis. This has been confirmed in mouse, chick, and zebrafish animal models, where reduced or eliminated movement consistently yields similar malformations and which provide the possibility of experimentation to uncover the precise disturbances and the mechanisms by which movement impacts molecular regulation. Molecular genetic studies have shown the important roles played by cell communication signalling pathways, namely Wnt, Hedgehog, and transforming growth factor-beta/bone morphogenetic protein. These pathways regulate cell behaviours such as proliferation and differentiation to control maturation of the skeletal elements, and are affected when movement is altered. Cell contacts to the extra-cellular matrix as well as the cytoskeleton offer a means of mechanotransduction which could integrate mechanical cues with genetic regulation. Indeed, expression of cytoskeletal genes has been shown to be affected by immobilisation. In addition to furthering our understanding of a fundamental aspect of cell control and differentiation during development, research in this area is applicable to the engineering of stable skeletal tissues from stem cells, which relies on an understanding of developmental mechanisms including genetic and physical criteria. A deeper understanding of how movement affects skeletogenesis therefore has broader implications for regenerative therapeutics for injury or disease, as well as for optimisation of physical therapy regimes for individuals affected by skeletal abnormalities.

Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2015;4:105–116

Limb lengthening by callus distraction and external fixation has a high rate of complications. We describe our experience using an intramedullary nail (Fitbone) which contains a motorised and programmable sliding mechanism for limb lengthening and bone transport. Between 2001 and 2004 we lengthened 13 femora and 11 tibiae in ten patients (seven men and three women) with a mean age of 32 years (21 to 47) using this nail. The indications for operation were short stature in six patients and developmental or acquired disorders in the rest.

The mean lengthening achieved was 40 mm (27 to 60). The mean length of stay in hospital was seven days (5 to 9). The mean healing index was 35 days/cm (18.8 to 70.9). There were no cases of implant-related infection or malunion.