Giant cell tumours (GCTs) of the small bones of the hands and feet are rare. Small case series have been published but there is no consensus about ideal treatment. We performed a systematic review, initially screening 775 titles, and included 12 papers comprising 91 patients with GCT of the small bones of the hands and feet. The rate of recurrence across these publications was found to be 72% (18 of 25) in those treated with isolated curettage, 13% (2 of 15) in those treated with curettage plus adjuvants, 15% (6 of 41) in those treated by resection and 10% (1 of 10) in those treated by amputation. We then retrospectively analysed 30 patients treated for GCT of the small bones of the hands and feet between 1987 and 2010 in five specialised centres. The primary treatment was curettage in six, curettage with adjuvants (phenol or liquid nitrogen with or without polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)) in 18 and resection in six. We evaluated the rate of complications and recurrence as well as the factors that influenced their functional outcome. At a mean follow-up of 7.9 years (2 to 26) the rate of recurrence was 50% (n = 3) in those patients treated with isolated curettage, 22% (n = 4) in those treated with curettage plus adjuvants and 17% (n = 1) in those treated with resection (p = 0.404). The only complication was pain in one patient, which resolved after surgical removal of remnants of PMMA. We could not identify any individual factors associated with a higher rate of complications or recurrence. The mean post-operative Musculoskeletal Tumor Society scores were slightly higher after intra-lesional treatment including isolated curettage and curettage plus adjuvants (29 (20 to 30)) compared with resection (25 (15 to 30)) (p = 0.091). Repeated curettage with adjuvants eventually resulted in the cure for all patients and is therefore a reasonable treatment for both primary and recurrent GCT of the small bones of the hands and feet. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2013;95-B:838–45

INTRODUCTION. Recently, as the number of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is increasing, the number of revision TKA due to loosening or osteolysis is rapidly increasing. Large bone defect is one of the most critical issues during revision TKA. Therefore, early detection of bone loss around the TKA prosthesis before bone loss has been enlarged is very important. However, it is difficult to detect the loosening or ostolysis at the early stage around the femoral component even using fluoroscopically guided plain radiograph. A novel technique of tomography (Tomosynthesis; Shimazu Corporation, Kyoto, Japan) was introduced to detect the small bone loss. The purpose of this study was to examine, in a pig model of radiolucent line and osteolysis around TKA, the sensitivity and specificity of detection of radiolucent line and osteolysis using fluoroscopically guided plain radiographs and a novel technique of tomography. METHODS. Six cemented femoral components (PFC Sigma; DePuy, Warsaw, IN, USA) were implanted in pig knees. Two components were implanted with standard cement technique (Standard model). Two components were implanted with 2 mm-thick defect between the cement and bone (Radiolucent line model). Two components were implanted with cystic defects (mean size = 0.7 cm. 3. ) in femoral condyles (Osteolysis model). The simulated bone lesions were filled with agarose to simulate granuloma tissue and to reduce the air artifact around the bone lesions, which can interfere with imaging techniques (Figure 1). Fluoroscopically guided plain radiographs (63 kV, 360 mA, 50 msec) were taken in 4 postures (antero-posterior, lateral, and +/−45 degrees oblique views) for each specimen (Figure 2). For Tomosynthesis, 74 frames were acquired in the rate 30 frames/sec with fixed X-ray condition (65 kV 1.25 mAs) and were reconstructed (Figure 3). Seven blinded assessors experienced in clinical radiographic analysis examined. The sensitivities, specificities and accuracy of the two imaging techniques were compared. RESULTS. The mean sensitivity and specificity of Tomosynthesis were 85.4% and 87.2% (Table 1). Any bone defects (radiolucent lines or osteolysis) were not detected using fluoroscopically guided plain radiographs, because metal box for post-cam mechanism hinder the bone defect around the femoral condyles. DISCUSSION. This study demonstrates the uselessness of fluoroscopically guided plain radiographs for small bone defect around the femoral component. Tomosynthesis, a novel technique of tomography, showed much higher efficacy comparing to conventional fluoroscopically guided plain radiographs. Although the size of bone defect in this study (0.7 cm. 3. ) was much smaller than previous report (1.4 cm. 3. ) using CT (Solomon L, et al., J Arthroplasty in press), sensitivity of this study was higher than that of previous study using CT (75%). Tomosynthesis will be useful method for early detection of small periprosthetic bone defects around femoral component of TKA

Recent studies on animal models focused on the effect of preserving tendon remnant of rotator cuff on tendon healing. A positive effect by combining tendon remnant preservation and small bone vents on the greater tuberosity in comparison with standard tendon-to-bone repair has been shown. The purpose of the present clinical study was to evaluate the efficacy of biologic augmentation of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair by maintaining tendon remnant on rotator cuff footprint combined with small bone vents of the greater tuberosity. A retrospective study was conducted. All patients who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair associated with small bone vents (nanofractures) and tendon footprint preservation were considered eligible for the study. Inclusion criteria were: diagnosis of full-thickness rotator cuff tear as diagnosed at preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and confirmed at the time of surgery; minimum 24-month of follow-up and availability of post-operative MRI performed not earlier than 6 months after surgery. Exclusion criteria were: partial thickness tears, irreparable tears, capsulo-labral pathologies, calcific tendonitis, gleno-humeral osteoarthritis and/or previous surgery. Primary outcome was the ASES score. Secondary outcomes were: Quick-DASH and WORC scores, and structural integrity of repaired tendons by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed six months after surgery. A paired t-test was used to compare pre- and postoperative clinical outcomes. Subgroup analysis was performed according to tear size. Significance was set at p < 0.05. The study included 29 patients (M:F = 15:14). Mean age (+ SD) of patients was 61.7 + 8.9 years. Mean follow-up was 27.4 ± 2.3 months. Comparison between pre- and postoperative functional scores showed significant clinical improvement (p < 0.001). Subgroup analysis for tear size showed significant differences in the QuickDASH score (0.04). Particularly, a significant difference in the QuickDASH score could be detected between medium and large tears (p=0.008) as well as medium and massive lesions (p=0.04). No differences could be detected between large and massive tears (p= 0.35). Postoperative imaging showed healed tendons in 21 out of 29 (72%) cases. Preservation of tendon remnant combined with small bone vents in the repair of medium-to-massive full-thickness rotator cuff tears provided significant improvement in clinical outcome compared to baseline conditions with complete structural integrity in 72% of the cases

Aim. To describe the histopathology of the first and last debrided bone tissue in chronic osteomyelitis and answer the following research question; is the last debrided bone tissue viable and without signs of inflammation?. Method. In total, 15 patients with chronic osteomyelitis were allocated to surgical treatment using a one stage protocol including extensive debridement. Suspected infected bone tissue eradicated early in the debridement procedure was collected as a clearly infected sample (S1). Likewise, the last eradicated bone tissue was collected as a suspected non-infected sample (S2), representing the status of the bone void. In all cases, the surgeon debrided the bone until visual confirmation of healthy bleeding bone. The samples were processed for histology, i.e. decalcification and paraffin embedding, followed by cutting and staining with Haematoxylin and Eosin. Immunohistochemistry with MAC-387 antibodies towards the calprotectin of neutrophil granulocytes (NGs) was also performed and used for estimation of a neutrophil granulocyte (NG) score (0, 1, 2 or 3), by the method described for fracture related infections (1). Results. For the S1 samples the median NG score was 3 which is considered confirmatory for infection. However, following debridement the median NG score was significantly (p = 0.032) reduced to 2. Often NGs were seen as single cells, but in seven S1 samples and in one S2 sample massive NG accumulations were observed. The S1 samples showed a mix of granulation tissue, fibrosis, viable bone, and bone necrosis. The S2 samples contained viable bone tissue and occasionally (10/15) small fragments of necrotic bone or bone debris were seen. Furthermore, a large number of erythrocytes were observed in most S2 samples. Conclusions. The present study shows that the inflammatory response still existents after debridement, although the response fades from the center of infection. Therefore, sampling of debrided bone tissue for histology must be performed initially during surgery, to avoid underestimation of the inflammatory response, i.e. the NG score. The last debrided bone tissue cannot by definition be considered completely viable and caution should be made to remove blood (rinse) before intraoperative evaluation of the viability of debrided cancellous bone. Remnant necrotic bone fragments or debris could represent low-vascular hiding places for leftover bacteria. Application of local antibiotics might have a central role in clearing of these small non-viable bone pieces at the bone void interface

The wrist is a complex joint involving many small bones and complicated kinematics. It has, therefore, been traditionally difficult to image and ascertain information about kinematics when making a diagnosis. Although MRI and fluoroscopy have been used, they both have limitations. Recently, there has been interest in the use of 4D-CT in imaging the wrist. This review examines the literature regarding the use of 4D-CT in imaging the wrist to assess kinematics and its ability to diagnose pathology. Some questions remain about the description of normal ranges, the most appropriate method of measuring intercarpal stability, the accuracy compared with established standards, and the place of 4D-CT in postoperative assessment. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2019;101-B:1325–1330

Glenoid replacement is a manual bone removal procedure that can be difficult for surgeons to perform. Surgical robotics have been utilized successfully in hip and knee orthopaedic procedures but there are no systems currently available in the shoulder. These robots tend to have low adoption rates by surgeons due to high costs, disruption of surgical workflow and added complexity. As well, these systems typically use optical tracking which needs a constant line-of-sight which is not conducive to a crowded operating room. The purpose of this work was developing and testing a surgical robotic system for glenoid replacement. The new surgical system utilizes flexible components that tether a Stewart Platform robot to the patient through a patient specific 3D printed mount. As the robot moves relative to the bone, reaction loads from the flexible components bending are measured by a load cell allowing the robot to “feel” its way around. As well, a small bone burring tool was attached to the robot to facilitate the necessary bone removal. The surgical system was tested against a fellowship-trained surgeon performing standard surgical techniques. Both the robot and the surgeon performed glenoid replacement on two different scapula analogs: standard anatomy and posterior glenoid edge wear referred to as a Walch B2. Six of each scapula model was tested by the robot and the surgeon. The surgeon created a pre-operative plan for both scapula analogs as a target for both methodologies. CT scans of the post-operative cemented implants were compared to the pre-operative target and implant position and orientation errors were measured. For the standard shoulder analogs the net implant position and orientation errors were 1.47 ± 0.48 mm and 2.57 ± 2.30° for the robot and 1.61 ± 0.29 mm and 5.04 ± 1.92° for the surgeon respectively. For the B2 shoulders, the net implant position and orientation errors were 2.16 ± 0.36 mm and 2.89 ± 0.88° for the robot and 3.01 ± 0.42 mm and 4.54 ± 1.49° for the surgeon respectively. The new tracking system was shown to be able to match or outperform the surgeon in most metrics. The surgeon tended to have difficulty gauging the depth needed as well as the face rotation of the implant. This was not surprising as the reaming tool used by the surgeon obscures the view of the anatomy and the spherical cutter hinders the ability to index the tool. The robot utilized only one surgical tool, the bone burr, precluding the need for multiple instruments used by the surgeon to prepare the glenoid bone bed. The force-space navigation method can be generalized to other joints, however, further work is needed to validate the system using cadaveric specimens

Aims

The aim of this study was to compare the clinical and radiological outcomes of reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) using small and standard baseplates in Asian patients, and to investigate the impact of a mismatch in the sizes of the glenoid and the baseplate on the outcomes.

Bone defects are frequently observed in anterior shoulder instability. Over the last decade, knowledge of the association of bone loss with increased failure rates of soft-tissue repair has shifted the surgical management of chronic shoulder instability. On the glenoid side, there is no controversy about the critical glenoid bone loss being 20%. However, poor outcomes have been described even with a subcritical glenoid bone defect as low as 13.5%. On the humeral side, the Hill-Sachs lesion should be evaluated concomitantly with the glenoid defect as the two sides of the same bipolar lesion which interact in the instability process, as described by the glenoid track concept. We advocate adding remplissage to every Bankart repair in patients with a Hill-Sachs lesion, regardless of the glenoid bone loss. When critical or subcritical glenoid bone loss occurs in active patients (> 15%) or bipolar off-track lesions, we should consider anterior glenoid bone reconstructions. The techniques have evolved significantly over the last two decades, moving from open procedures to arthroscopic, and from screw fixation to metal-free fixation. The new arthroscopic techniques of glenoid bone reconstruction procedures allow precise positioning of the graft, identification, and treatment of concomitant injuries with low morbidity and faster recovery. Given the problems associated with bone resorption and metal hardware protrusion, the new metal-free techniques for Latarjet or free bone block procedures seem a good solution to avoid these complications, although no long-term data are yet available.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2024;106-B(10):1100–1110.

Aims

Giant cell tumour of bone (GCTB) is a locally aggressive lesion that is difficult to treat as salvaging the joint can be associated with a high rate of local recurrence (LR). We evaluated the risk factors for tumour relapse after treatment of a GCTB of the limbs.

Aims. The aim of this study was to develop a single-layer hybrid organic-inorganic sol-gel coating that is capable of a controlled antibiotic release for cementless hydroxyapatite (HA)-coated titanium orthopaedic prostheses. Methods. Coatings containing gentamicin at a concentration of 1.25% weight/volume (wt/vol), similar to that found in commercially available antibiotic-loaded bone cement, were prepared and tested in the laboratory for: kinetics of antibiotic release; activity against planktonic and biofilm bacterial cultures; biocompatibility with cultured mammalian cells; and physical bonding to the material (n = 3 in all tests). The sol-gel coatings and controls were then tested in vivo in a small animal healing model (four materials tested; n = 6 per material), and applied to the surface of commercially pure HA-coated titanium rods. Results. The coating released gentamicin at > 10 × minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for sensitive staphylococcal strains within one hour thereby potentially giving effective prophylaxis for arthroplasty surgery, and showed > 99% elution of the antibiotic within the coating after 48 hours. There was total eradication of both planktonic bacteria and established bacterial biofilms of a panel of clinically relevant staphylococci. Mesenchymal stem cells adhered to the coated surfaces and differentiated towards osteoblasts, depositing calcium and expressing the bone marker protein, osteopontin. In the in vivo small animal bone healing model, the antibiotic sol-gel coated titanium (Ti)/HA rod led to osseointegration equivalent to that of the conventional HA-coated surface. Conclusion. In this study we report a new sol-gel technology that can release gentamicin from a bioceramic-coated cementless arthroplasty material. In vitro, local gentamicin levels are in excess of what can be achieved by antibiotic-loaded bone cement. In vivo, bone healing in an animal model is not impaired. This, thus, represents a biomaterial modification that may have the potential to protect at-risk patients from implant-related deep infection. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2021;103-B(3):522–529

Aims

The aim of this study is to report the long-term outcomes of instrumented femoral revisions with impaction allograft bone grafting (IBG) using the X-change femoral revision system at 30 years after introduction of the technique.

To date, the fixation of proximal humeral fractures with angular stable locking plates is still insufficient with mechanical failure rates of 18% to 35%. The PHILOS plate (DePuy Synthes, Switzerland) is one of the most used implants. However, this plate has not been demonstrated to be optimal; the closely symmetric plate design and the largely heterogeneous bone mineral density (BMD) distribution of the humeral head suggest that the primary implant stability may be improved by optimizing the screw orientations. Finite element (FE) analysis allows testing of various implant configurations repeatedly to find the optimal design. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether computational optimization of the orientation of the PHILOS plate locking screws using a validated FE methodology can improve the predicted primary implant stability. The FE models of nineteen low-density (humeral head BMD range: 73.5 – 139.5 mg/cm3) left proximal humeri of 10 male and 9 female elderly donors (mean ± SD age: 83 ± 8.8 years) were created from high-resolution peripheral computer tomography images (XtremeCT, Scanco Medical, Switzerland), using a previously developed and validated computational osteosynthesis framework. To simulate an unstable mal-reduced 3-part fracture (AO/OTA 11-B3.2), the samples were virtually osteotomized and fixed with the PHILOS plate, using six proximal screws (rows A, B and E) according to the surgical guide. Three physiological loading modes with forces taken from musculoskeletal models (AnyBody, AnyBody Technology A/S, Denmark) were applied. The FE analyses were performed with Abaqus/Standard (Simulia, USA). The average principal compressive strain was evaluated in cylindrical bone regions around the screw tips; since this parameter was shown to be correlated with the experimental number of cycles to screw cut-out failure (R2 = 0.90). In a parametric analysis, the orientation of each of the six proximal screws was varied by steps of 5 in a 5×5 grid, while keeping the screw head positions constant. Unfeasible configurations were discarded. 5280 simulations were performed by repeating the procedure for each sample and loading case. The best screw configuration was defined as the one achieving the largest overall reduction in peri-screw bone strain in comparison with the PHILOS plate. With the final optimized configuration, the angle of each screw could be improved, exhibiting significantly smaller average bone strain around the screw tips (range of reduction: 0.4% – 38.3%, mean ± SD: 18.49% ± 9.56%). The used simulation approach may help to improve the fixation of complex proximal humerus fractures, especially for the target populations of patients at high risk of failure

Aims

Periprosthetic joint infections (PJIs) and fracture-related infections (FRIs) are associated with a significant risk of adverse events. However, there is a paucity of data on cardiac complications following revision surgery for PJI and FRI and how they impact overall mortality. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the risk of perioperative myocardial injury (PMI) and mortality in this patient cohort.

Aims

Thresholds of acceptable early migration of the components in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) have traditionally ignored the effects of patient and implant factors that may influence migration. The aim of this study was to determine which of these factors are associated with overall longitudinal migration of well-fixed tibial components following TKA.

Introduction. In recent years, there has been a growing interest, in many fields of medicine, in the use of bone adhesives that are biodegraded to non-toxic products and resorbed after fulfilling their function in contact with living tissue. Biomechanical properties of newly developed bone glue, such as adhesion to bone and elastic modulus were tested in our study. Material and methods. Newly developed injectable biodegradable “self-setting” bone adhesive prepared from inorganic tricalcium phosphate powder and aqueous solution of organic thermogelling polymers was used for ex-vivo fixing fractured pig femur. Ex-vivo biomechanical tests were performed on 45 fresh pig femurs. Control group consist of 10 healthy bones, tested group was created by 35 bones with artificial fractures in diaphysis – oblique (O) and bending wedge (BW) type of fracture. Tested group were divided to following 4 subgroups (sg); sg1 – O fracture (n=15) glued together with 3 different type of bone adhesives, sg2 BW fracture (n=5) glued together with bone adhesive (n=5); sg3 – BW fracture fixed with locking compression plate (LCP), n=5; sg4 – BW fracture fixed with LCP in combination with bone adhesive. Three-point bending force and shear compression tests were performed on linear electrodynamic test instrument (ElectroPuls E10000, Instron). Femurs from sg1, sg2 and sg4 were tested on Micro-CT before and after biomechanical testing. Results. Shear compression tests in sg1 without amino acids modification showed that it is needed force of 0.5 mPa to recreate fracture, however, modification with amino acids increased glue strength to 3 mPa. Three-point bending force test in sg2 showed reduced force of 250 N to recreate fracture, anyhow in sg4 force needed to initiate the fracture was increased up to 5000 N. Conclusion. Newly developed injectable biodegradable “self- setting” bone adhesive represents new possibility how to fix small bone fragments in comminuted fractures and simultaneous chance how to improve and accelerate bone healing process. Acknowledgement. Project no. AOTEU-R-2016-064 was supported by AOTRAUMA, Switzerland

Introduction. Although total hip arthroplasty is a very successful operation, complications such as: dislocation, aseptic loosening, and periprosthetic fracture do occur. These aspects have been studied in large populations for traditional stem designs, but not for more recent short stems. The design rationale of short stems is to preserve bone stock, without compromising stability. However, due to their smaller bone contact area, high peak stresses and areas of stress shielding could appear in the proximal femur, especially in the presence of atypical bone geometries. In order to evaluate this aspect, we quantified the stress distribution in atypical proximal femurs implanted with a commercially available calcar guided short stem. Methods. Geometrical shape variations in neck-shaft angle (NSA), neck-length (NL) and anteversion (AV), were determined three-dimensionally in the Mimics Innovation Suite (Materialise N.V., Leuven, Belgium) from a CT dataset of 96 segmented femurs. For each shape variation, the femurs that had the two lowest, two average and two highest values were included (18 femurs). Using scripting functionality in Mimics, CAD design files of the calcar guided Optimys short stem (Mathys, Bettlach, Switzerland) were automatically sized and aligned to restore the anatomical hip rotation center. Stem size and position were manually corrected by an orthopedic surgeon before finite element (FE) models were constructed using a non-manifold assembly approach (Figure 1). Material properties were estimated from the CT dataset and loads representing walking and stair climbing were applied [1]. Stress-shielding was evaluated by the change in average strain energy density pre- and post-operatively in three different regions (calcar, midstem, tip) each being subdivided in four quarters (medial, lateral, anterior, posterior) (Figure 2). Results. Stress shielding in the proximal femur was seen in all models, especially in the calcar-medial region. In that region, the largest variation in stress shielding was observed for the models with an atypical NSA, ranging from 57% to 96%. The lowest amount was found in a patient with an average NSA (124°), and the highest amount was found in a patient with a small NSA (109°) (Figure 2). In the models selected for their varying neck lengths, calcar-medial stress shielding increased from 69% (NL 53 mm) to 97% (NL 66 mm). Stress shielding was least sensitive to variations in AV, ranging from 79% to 92%. Similar patterns were observed for walking and stair climbing loads. Discussion. Stress shielding was smallest in femurs where the load-transfer between implant and bone was located more proximally, while higher levels of stress shielding occurred when the load transfer was more pronounced at the tip of the stem (Figure 3). Two femurs with an average NSA and NL showed substantially lower stress shielding than the 16 other femurs. This may suggest that the calcar guided Optimys short stem prevents stress shielding especially in average femurs, but less so in atypical femurs. Hence, a larger study population should be investigated to support this hypothesis. For any figures or tables, please contact the authors directly

In orthopaedic surgery, as in many other surgical fields, there is a clear tendency towards the use of minimally invasive procedures. These techniques are increasingly being implemented almost routinely for procedures such as spine and pelvis surgery. However, for fracture treatment and for applications involving small bones, such as hand and foot surgery, these systems are hardly ever used. We introduce a new system for image based guidance in traumatology. We included 20 patients with a fracture of the fifth metatarsal. They were randomised on admission into two groups. Ten patients in the metatarsal group were operated conventionally and ten were operated with the assistance of a new image guidance system. This system is based on 2D-fluoro images which are acquired with a conventional c-arm and are transferred to the system workstation. After detecting marked tools, it can be used to display trajectories for K-wire guidance in the c-arm shot. The average duration of surgery (time from incision to suture) in the image-based group was 12.7 minutes ± 5.5 (min. 6, max. 23), in the conventional group it was 17 minutes ± 6.5 (min. 7, max. 28) (p=0.086). The average duration of radiation was 18 seconds ± 8.5 (min. 6, max 36) in the image-based group vs. 32.4 seconds ± 19.4 (min. 12, max. 66) in the conventional group (p=0.057). An average of 4.7 C-arm shots ± 2 (min 2, max 9) were necessary in the image-based group to position the K-wire. For the conventional group, 8.2 shots ± 2.3 (min 4, max 12) were used (p=0.0073). It took 1.6 trials ± 0.7 (min.1, max. 3) to position the K-wire for the image-based procedures, in the conventional group 2.7 trials ± 0.9 (min. 1, max 4) were necessary (p=0.0084). There were no malfunctions or adverse events in any of the image-based navigational cases. No screws needed to be replaced in the image-based group. In the conventional group, two screws were replaced intra-operatively because they were too short in the control c-arm shot, and the screw threads did not bridge the fracture gap completely, leading to insufficient compression. In this pilot study with only a small sample size, the image-based guidance system could be integrated into the existing surgical workflow and was used for applications, where existing navigation systems are not commonly used. The technology gives the surgeon additional information and can reduce the number of trials for perfect implant positioning. This potentially increases the safety of the surgical procedure and spares intact bone substance which is essential for the footing of implants in small bones and fragment fixation. Whether these factors contribute to a reduction in complications or revision rate must be confirmed in larger prospective studies