Introduction. To face the problem of surgical complications, which is generally relevant in surgical fields, an intraoperative checklist (Safety Surgical Checklist, SSC) was elaborated and released by the World Health Organization in 2008, and its use has been described in 2009. In our Institution, the WHO SSC was introduced in 2011. In spinal surgery, many preventive measures were investigated to reduce complications, but there is no report on the effectiveness of the WHO checklist in reducing complications. Aim. The aim of this study was to compare the incidence of complications between the two periods, from January to December 2010 (without checklist) and from January 2011 to December 2012 (with checklist), in order to assess the checklist effectiveness. Materials and Methods. A retrospective and single center study was carried out on patients who underwent spinal surgery during the three-year period from January 2010 to December 2012. Patients were classified according to the spine pathology and the different presentation of the complication. We registered the complications arising in patients treated from 2010 to 2012 during a 3 years follow up period for each patient, assessing the possible differences before and after the checklist's introduction. Results. The sample size was 917 patients, the mean age was 52.88 years. The majority of procedures were performed for oncological diseases (54.4%) and degenerative diseases (39.8%). 159 complications in total were detected (17.3%). The overall incidence of complications for trauma, infectious pathology, oncology, and degenerative disease was 22.2%, 19.2%, 18.4%, and 15.3%, respectively. No correlation was observed between the type of pathology and the complication incidence. We observed a reduction of the overall incidence of complications following the introduction of the SSC: in 2010 without checklist, the incidence of complications was 24.2%, while in 2011 and 2012, following the checklist introduction, the incidence of complications was 16.7% and 11.7%, respectively (mean 14.2%). Conclusion. Despite the limitations of the study, in particular the impossibility to carry out a randomized study, SSC seems to be an effective tool to reduce complications in spinal surgery. We propose to extend the use of checklist system also to the pre-operative and post-operative phases in order to further reduce the incidence of complications

Revision knee arthroplasty is a complex procedure with the number and cost of knee revision procedures performed per year expected to rise. Few studies have examined adverse events following revision arthroplasty. The objective of this study was to determine rates of serious adverse events in patients undergoing revision knee arthroplasty with consideration of the indication for revision (urgent versus elective indications) and to compare these with primary arthroplasty and re-revision arthroplasty. Patients undergoing primary knee arthroplasty were identified in the UK Hospital Episode Statistics. Subsequent revision and re-revision arthroplasty procedures in the same patients and same knee were identified. The primary outcome was 90-day mortality and a logistic regression model was used to investigate factors associated with 90-day mortality and secondary adverse outcomes including infection (undergoing surgery), pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarction, stroke. Urgent indications for revision arthroplasty were defined as infection or fracture, and all other indications were included in the elective indications cohort. 939,021 primary knee arthroplasty cases were included of which 40,854 underwent subsequent revision arthroplasty, and 9,100 underwent re-revision arthroplasty. Revision surgery for elective indications was associated with a 90-day rate of mortality of 0.44% (135/30,826; 95% CI 0.37-0.52) which was comparable to primary knee arthroplasty (0.46%; 4,292/939,021; 95% CI 0.44-0.47). Revision arthroplasty for infection, however, was associated with a much higher mortality of 2.04% (184/9037; 95% CI 1.75-2.35; odds ratio [OR] 3.54; 95% CI 2.81-4.46), as was revision for periprosthetic fracture at 5.25% (52/991; 95% CI 3.94-6.82; OR 6.23; 95% CI 4.39-8.85). Higher rates of pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarction, and stroke were also observed in the infection and fracture cohort. These findings highlight the burden of complications associated with revision knee arthroplasty. They will inform shared decision-making for patients considering revision knee arthroplasty for elective indications. Patients presenting with infection of a knee arthroplasty or a periprosthetic fracture are at very high risk of adverse events. It is important that acute hospital services and tertiary referral centres caring for these patients are appropriately supported to ensure appropriate urgency and an anticipation for increased care requirements

Our aim was to ascertain if K-wire configuration had any influence on the infection and complication rate for base of 4th and 5th metacarpal fractures. We hypothesised that in individuals whose wires crossed the 4th and 5th carpometacarpal joint (CMCJ), the rate of complications and infection would be higher. Data was retrospectively analysed from a single centre. 106 consecutive patients with a base of 5th (with or without an associated 4th metacarpal fracture) were analysed between October 2016 and May 2021. Patients were split into two groups for comparison; those who did not have K-wires crossing the CMCJ's and those in whose fixation had wires crossing the joints. Confounding factors were accounted for and Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 20 software. Of 106 patients, 60 (56.6%) patients did have K-wires crossing the CMCJ. Wire size ranged from 1.2-2.0 with 65 individuals (65.7%) having size 1.6 wires inserted. The majority of patients, 66 (62.9%) underwent fixation with two wires (range 1-4). The majority of infected cases (88.9%) were in patients who had k-wires crossing the CMCJ, this trended towards clinical significance (p=0.09). Infection was associated with delay to theatre (p=0.002) and longer operative time (p=0.002). In patients with a base of 4th and 5th metacarpal fractures, we have demonstrated an increased risk of post-operative infection with a K-wire configuration that crosses the CMCJ. Biomechanical studies would be of use in determining the exact amount of movement across the CMCJ, with the different K-wire configuration in common use, and this will be part of a follow-up study

Abstract. Objective. In this systematic review we aim to compare wound complication rates from Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) to dry sterile surgical dressings in primary and revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Methods. A search was performed using PubMed, Embase, Science Direct, and Cochrane Library. Eligible studies included those investigating the use of NPWT in primary and revision TKA. Exclusion criteria included studies investigating NPWT not related to primary or revision TKA; studies in which data relating to NPWT was not accessible; missing data; without an available full text, or not well reported. We also excluded studies with poor scientific methodology. All publications were limited to the English language. Abstracts, case reports, conference presentations, and reviews were excluded. Welch independent sample t-test was used for the statistical analysis. Results. Our review identified 11 studies evaluating 1,414 patients. Of the 1,181 primary TKA patients analysed (NPWT = 416, surgical dressing = 765), the overall wound complication rates in patients receiving NPWT ranged from 0% – 63% (Median 7.30%, SD ± 21.44) This is in comparison to complication rates of 2.8% – 19% (Median 6.50%, SD ± 6.59) in the dry dressing group. The difference in complication rates between the two groups was not statistically significant (p =0.337). In the revision TKA cohort of 279 patients (NPWT group = 128, dry dressing group = 151), the overall wound complication rates in the NPWT group ranged between 6.7% – 12% (Median 9.80%, SD ± 2.32) vs 23.8% – 30% (Median 26.95%, SD ± 2.53) in the dry dressing group. This difference was statistically significant (p<0.001). Conclusion. NPWT dressing demonstrated statistically significant reduction in wound complication rates when used in revision TKA but not primary TKA when compared to dry sterile dressings. This is probably due to higher wound related risks encountered with revision TKA surgery compared to primary TKA surgery. Declaration of Interest. (b) declare that there is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research reported:I declare that there is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research project

Introduction

The management of pathologic fractures (PF) following osteomyelitis (especially acute subtype) has not been widely investigated. This is challenging due to the infection-induced destructive process causing bone architecture defects. Therefore, this study aims to assess a stepwise treatment plan for the acute incidence of PF in long bone following pediatric acute Hematogenous osteomyelitis(AHO) (the most common mechanism in children).

Femoral stem varus has been associated with poorer results. We report the incidence of varus/valgus malalignment of the Exeter polished, double taper design in a multicentre prospective study. The surgical outcomes at a minimum of five year and complication rates are also reported. A multicentre prospective study of 987 total hip replacements was undertaken to investigate whether there is an association between surgical outcome and femoral stem malalignment. The primary outcome measure was the change in the Oxford hip score (OHS) at five years. Secondary outcomes included the rate of dislocation and revision. The incidence of varus and valgus malignment were 7.1% and 2.6% respectively. There was no significant difference in OHS between neutral and malaligned femoral stems at 5 years (neutral, mean = 40.2; varus, mean 39.3, p = 0.465; valgus, mean = 40.9, p = 0.605). There was no significant difference in dislocation rate between the groups (p = 0.66). There was also no significant difference in revision rate (p = 0.34). This study provides evidence that the Exeter stem is extremely tolerant of varus and valgus malalignment, both in terms of outcome and complication rate

Introduction. We aimed to study the rates of both surgical and medical complications associated with femoral diaphysis fracture fixation with intramedullary nailing including all fracture mechanisms. Additionally, we investigated whether the trauma energy has an impact on the complication risk. Method. In this retrospective cohort study, the health records of 491 patients with 503 femoral fractures, who underwent surgery between May 2007 and May 2022 in Tampere University Hospital, were reviewed. Patients who underwent a primary operation with a reamed rigid intramedullary nail for a diaphyseal femoral fracture and whose follow-ups were organized at the same hospital district, were included. Based on those criteria, 57.5% were included for analysis (279 patients with 289 fractures). The complications were then recorded by chart review. To investigate the impact of trauma energy on complication risk, we compared complication proportions in high- and low-energy groups and calculated odds ratios. Result. The crude percentage of 30-day mortality was 2.1% (6 of 289) based on information obtained from the patients’ records. The overall proportion of complications was 22.5%. The risk of any medical complication was 2.8%, whereas the risk of surgical complication was 19.8%. The risk of complications was nearly twice as high in high-energy fractures compared to low-energy fractures, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.92, 95% CI 1.03-3.75. The risk of reoperations was significantly increased in high-energy traumas (OR 2.46, CI 1.25-5.24). Conclusion. This study reveals a 2.1% risk of thirdy-day mortality and a 22.5% risk of overall complications, predominantly of a surgical type. The complication risk, especially the risk of surgical complications, is higher among the patients with fractures caused by high-energy injury compared to low-energy fractures, highlighting the importance of timely identification of those complications for providing better postoperative care

Adverse events (AEs) are still a major problem in spinal surgery, despite advances in surgical techniques, innovative technologies available and the introduction of checklist and predictive score systems aimed at reducing surgical complications. We previously analysed the results of the introduction of the WHO Safety Surgical Checklist (SSC) in our Institution, comparing the incidence of complications between two periods: from January to December 2010 (without checklist) and from January 2011 and December 2012 (with checklist), in order to assess the checklist effectiveness. The sample size was 917 patients with an average of 30 months of follow-up. Complications were observed in 107 patients (11.6%) among 917 spinal surgery procedures performed, with 159 (17.3%) complications in total. The overall incidence of complications for trauma, infectious pathology, oncology, and degenerative disease was 22.2%, 19.2%, 18.4%, and 15.3%, respectively. We observed a reduction of the overall incidence of complications following the introduction of the WHO Surgical Checklist: in 2010 without checklist, the incidence of complications was 24.2%, while in 2011 and 2012, following the checklist introduction, the incidence of complications was 16.7% and 11.7%, respectively (mean 14.2%) (p<0.0005). Thus, the SSC appeared to be an effective tool to reduce complications in spinal surgery and we proposed to extend the use of checklist system also to the pre-operative and post-operative phases in order to further reduce the incidence of complications. We also believe that a correct capture and classification of complications is fundamental to generate a clinical decision support system aimed at improving patients’ safety in spinal surgery. In the period between January 2017 and January 2018 we prospectively recorded the adverse events and complications of patients undergoing spinal surgery in our department, without using any collection system. Then we retrospectively recorded the intraoperative and postoperative adverse events of surgically treated patients during the same one-year period, using the SAVES v2 system introduced by Rampersaud and collaborators (Rampersaud YR et al. J Neurosurg Spine 2016 Aug; 25 (2): 256-63) to classify them. In the one-year period from January 2017 to January 2018 a total of 336 patients underwent spinal surgery: 223 for degenerative conditions and 113 for spinal tumors. Comorbidities were collected (Charlson Comorbidity Index [CCI]). Overall, a higher number of adverse events (AEs) was recorded using SAVES compared to the prospective recording without the use of any capture system and the increased number was statistically significant for early postoperative AEs (138/336 vs 44/336, p<0.001). 210 adverse events were retrospectively recorded using the SAVES system (30 intraoperative adverse events, 138 early postoperative and 42 late postoperative adverse events). 99 patients (29.5%) on the cohort had at least one complication. Furthermore, the correlation between some risk factors and the onset of complications or the prolonged length of stay was statistically analyzed. The risk factors taken into account were: age, presence of comorbidities (CCI), ASA score, previous surgery at the same level, type of intervention, location of the disease, duration of the surgery. In particular, the duration of the surgery (more than 3 hours) and the presence of previous surgeries resulted to be risk factors for complications in multivariate analyses

This study was conducted to investigate the characteristics, complications, radiologic features and clinical course of patients undergoing reduction of forearm fractures in order to better inform patient prognosis and postoperative management. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 1079 pediatric patients treated for forearm fractures between January 2014 and September 2021 in a 327 bed regional medical center. A preoperative radiological assessment and chart review was performed. Percent fracture displacement, location, orientation, comonution, fracture line visibility and angle of angulation were determined by AP and lateral radiographs. Percent fracture displacement was derived by: (Displacement of Bone Shafts / Diameter) x 100% = %Fracture Displacement. Angle of angulation and percent fracture displacement were calculated by averaging AP and lateral radiograph measurements. 80 cases, averaging 13.5±8.3 years, were identified as having a complete fracture of the radius and/or ulna with 69 receiving closed reduction and 11 receiving fixation via an intramedullary device or percutaneous pinning. Eight patients (10%) experienced complications with four resulting in a refracture and four resulting in significant loss of reduction (LOR) without refracture. Fractures in the proximal ⅔s of the radius were associated with a significant increase in complications compared to fractures in the distal ⅓ of the radius (31.6% vs 3.4%) (P=.000428). Likewise, a higher percent fracture displacement was associated with a decreased risk of complications (28.7% vs 5.9% displacement)(P=0.0403). No elevated risk of complications was found based on fracture orientation, angulation, fracture line visibility, forearm bone(s) fractured, sex, age or arm affected. Our result highlights radius fracture location and percent fracture displacement as markers with prognostic value following forearm fracture. These measurements are simply calculated via pre-reduction radiographs, providing an efficient method of informing risk of complications following forearm fracture

Tourniquet is a commonly used tool in orthopaedic practice. Incidence of complications is low but if any develops, it is devastating. Transient nerve damage, ischemia or skin burns are the possible tourniquet related complications. There is big variation in practice regarding the limb occlusion pressure. 51 procedures in 50 patients were reviewed retrospectively in our district general hospital. We looked at quality of documentation guided by the BOAST standard (The Safe Use of Intraoperative Tourniquets, published in October 2021). Limb occlusion pressure and ischemic time were analysed. Intra-operative and post-operative notes were reviewed to assess quality of documentation and post-operative complications. Although limb occlusion pressure was above the recommended range in more than 75% of cases, there were no significant complications observed. Two cases only developed transient neuropraxia in common peroneal nerve and median nerve following tibial plateau ORIF and trapeziectomy simultaneously. Tibial ORIF fixation case had prolonged ischemic time (more than 120 minutes) and the limb occlusion pressure for the hand case was above the recommended range. Both have recovered within few days with no long-term consequences. Minimum documentation threshold was not met with regarding tourniquet site condition, method of skin isolation and padding, and exsanguination method. This relatively new standard with no previous similar guidance needs time until it is followed by the health care professionals especially when there is no high incidence of complications related to the use of the tourniquet. However, it is crucial to increase the theatre staff awareness of such standards. This will prevent devastating complications specifically in vulnerable patients. Adjustments to theatre checklist have been suggested to improved documentation. Additionally, local teaching sessions will be delivered to theatre personnel aiming at improving our compliance to this standard

Introduction. Cephalomedullary nailing (CMN) is commonly used for unstable pertrochanteric fracture. CMN is relatively safe method although various complications can potentially occur needing revision surgery. Commonly used salvage procedures such as renailing, hemiarthroplasty, conservative treatment or total hip arthroplasty (THA) are viable alternatives. The aim was to investigate the rate of THA after CMN and evaluate the performance on conversion total hip arthroplasty (cTHA) after failure of CMN. Method. Collected data included patients from two orthopedic centers. Data consisted of all cTHAs after CMN between 2014-2020 and primary cementless THA operations between 2013-2023. Primary THA operations were treated as a control group where Oxford Hip Score (OHS) was the main compared variable. Result. From 2398 proximal femoral hip procedures 1667 CMN procedures were included. Altogether 46/1667 (2.8%) CMNs later received THA. Indications for THA after CMN failure were 13 (28.3%) cut-outs, nine (19.6%) cut-throughs, eight (17.4%) nail breakages, seven (15.2%) post traumatic arthrosis, seven (15.2%) nonunions, one (2.2%) malunion and one (2.2%) collum screw withdrawal. Mean (SD) time to complication after CMN operation is 5.9 (6.8) months. Mean (SD) time from nail procedure to THA was 10.4 (12.0) months. Total complication rate for cTHA after CMN was 17.4%. Reported complications were infection with seven (15.2%) cases and one (2.2%) nerve damage. Mean (SD) time to cTHA complication was 3.6 (6.1) months. One-sample T-test showed OHS to be significantly better (P<.001) for primary cementless THA compared to cTHA after one year. Conclusion. Altogether 2.8% of CMN were converted to THA. Nearly half (47.8%) of the cTHA procedures were due to CMN cut-out or cut-through. OHS was significantly better in primary cementless THA compared to cTHA. Prosthetic joint infection was the most frequent complication related to cTHA

Anterior approach total hip arthroplasty (AA-THA) has a steep learning curve, with higher complication rates in initial cases. Proper surgical case selection during the learning curve can reduce early risk. This study aims to identify patient and radiographic factors associated with AA-THA difficulty using Machine Learning (ML). Consecutive primary AA-THA patients from two centres, operated by two expert surgeons, were enrolled (excluding patients with prior hip surgery and first 100 cases per surgeon). K- means prototype clustering – an unsupervised ML algorithm – was used with two variables - operative duration and surgical complications within 6 weeks - to cluster operations into difficult or standard groups. Radiographic measurements (neck shaft angle, offset, LCEA, inter-teardrop distance, Tonnis grade) were measured by two independent observers. These factors, alongside patient factors (BMI, age, sex, laterality) were employed in a multivariate logistic regression analysis and used for k-means clustering. Significant continuous variables were investigated for predictive accuracy using Receiver Operator Characteristics (ROC). Out of 328 THAs analyzed, 130 (40%) were classified as difficult and 198 (60%) as standard. Difficult group had a mean operative time of 106mins (range 99–116) with 2 complications, while standard group had a mean operative time of 77mins (range 69–86) with 0 complications. Decreasing inter-teardrop distance (odds ratio [OR] 0.97, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.95–0.99, p = 0.03) and right-sided operations (OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.10–2.72, p = 0.02) were associated with operative difficulty. However, ROC analysis showed poor predictive accuracy for these factors alone, with area under the curve of 0.56. Inter-observer reliability was reported as excellent (ICC >0.7). Right-sided hips (for right-hand dominant surgeons) and decreasing inter-teardrop distance were associated with case difficulty in AA-THA. These data could guide case selection during the learning phase. A larger dataset with more complications may reveal further factors

Introduction. Epiphysiodesis, defined as the process of closing the growth plate (physis), have been used for several years as a treatment option of cases where the predicted leg-length discrepancy (LLD) falls between 2 to 5 cm. The aim of this study was to systematically review the existing literature on the effectiveness of three different epiphysiodesis techniques with implant usage for the treatment of leg-length discrepancy in the pediatric population. The secondary aim was to address the reported complications of staples, tension-band plates (TBP) and percutaneous epiphysiodesis screws (PETS). Method. This systematic review was performed according to PRISMA guidelines. We searched MEDLINE (PubMed), Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Scopus for studies on skeletally immature patients with LLD treated with epiphysiodesis with an implant. The extracted outcome categories were effectiveness of epiphysiodesis (LLD measurements pre/post-operatively, successful/unsuccessful) and complications that were graded on severity. Result. Forty-four studies (2184 patients) were included, from whom 578 underwent TBP, 455 PETS and 1048 staples. From pooled analysis of the studies reporting success rate, 64% (150/234) successful TBP surgeries (10 studies), 78% (222/284) successful PETS (9 studies) and 52% (212/407) successful Blount staples (8 studies). Severe complications rate was 7% for PETS, 17% for TBP and 16% for Blount staples. TBP had 43 cases of angular deformity (10%), Blount staples 184 (17%) while PETS only 18 cases (4%). Conclusion. Our results highlighted that PETS seems to be the most successful type of epiphysiodesis surgery with an implant, with higher success rate and lower severe complications than TBP or Blount staples

Excessive opioid prescriptions after total joint arthroplasty (TJA) increase risks for adverse opioid related events, chronic opioid use, and increase the availability of opioids for unlawful diversion. Thus, decreasing postoperative prescriptions may improve quality after TJA. Concerns exist that a decrease in opioids prescribed may increase complications such as readmissions, emergency department (ED) visits or worsened patient reported outcomes (PROs). The purpose of this quality improvement study was to explore whether a reduction in opioids prescribed after TJA resulted in increased complications. Methods: Data originated from a statewide arthroplasty database (MARCQI). The database collects over 96% of all TJA performed in the state of Michigan, USA. Data was prospectively abstracted and included OMEs prescribed at discharge, readmissions, ED visits within 30 days and PROs. Data was collected one year before and after the creation of an opioid prescribing protocol that had decreased prescriptions by approximately 50% in opioid naive and tolerant patients. Trends were monitored using Shewhart control charts. 84,998 TJA over two-years were included. All groups showed a reduction in opioids prescribed. Importantly, no increased complications occurred concomitant to this reduction. No increases in ED visits or readmissions, and no decreases in KOOSJR/HOOSJR/PROMIS10 scores were noted in any of the groups. Using large data sets and registries can drive performance and improve quality. The MARCQI Postoperative opioid prescription recommendations and performance measures decreased total oral morphine equivalents prescribed over a large and diverse population by approximately 50% without decreasing PROs or increasing ED visits or hospital readmissions. A reduction in opioids prescribed after TJA can be accomplished safely and without an increase in complications across a large population

In-office surgeries have the potential to offer high quality medical care in a more efficient, cost-effective setting than outpatient surgical centers for certain procedures. The primary concerns with operating on patients in the office setting are insufficient sterility and lack of appropriate resources in case of excessive bleeding or other surgical complications. This study serves to investigate these concerns and determine whether in-office hand surgeries are safe and clinically effective. A retrospective review of patients who underwent minor hand operations in the office setting between December 2020 and December 2021 was performed. The surgical procedures included in this analysis are needle aponeurotomy, trigger finger release, mass/foreign body removal and reduction of hand/wrist fracture with or without percutaneous pinning. No major complications requiring extended observation or hospital admission occurred. 122 of the 132 patients (92.4%) were successfully treated with no complications and only mild symptoms within one month of surgery. Five patients (3.8%) returned to the office for pain, inflammation and/or stiffness of the affected finger, with two of the five returning due to osteoarthritis and/or pseudogout flare-ups. Five additional patients returned due to incomplete treatment with continued presence of Dupuytren's contracture (3), trigger finger (1) or infected foreign body (1). One patient (0.8%) developed infection, due to incomplete removal of an infected foreign body, which was subsequently treated with antibiotics and complete foreign body removal. The absence of major complications and high success rate for minor hand procedures shows the high degree of safety and efficacy which can be achieved via the in-office setting for select procedures. While proper patient selection is key, our result shows the in-office procedure room setting can offer the necessary elements of sterility and hemostatic support for several common hand surgeries

Reduction of length of stay (LOS) without compromising quality of care is a trend observed in orthopaedic departments. To achieve this goal the pathway needs to be optimised. This requires team work than can be supported by e-health solutions. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of reduction in LOS on complications and readmissions in one hospital where accelerated discharge was introduced due to the pandemic. 317 patients with primary total hip and total knee replacements treated in the same hospital between October 2018 and February 2021 were included. The patients were divided in two groups: the pre-pandemic group and the pandemic group. The discharge criteria were: patient feels comfortable with going back home, patient has enough support at home, no wound leakage, and independence in activities of daily living. No face-to-face surgeon or nurse follow-up was planned. Patients’ progress was monitored via the mobile application. The patients received information, education materials, postoperative exercises and a coaching via secure chat. The length of stay (LOS) and complications were assessed through questions in the app and patients filled in standard PROMs preoperatively, at 6 weeks and 3 months. Before the pandemic, 64.8% of the patients spent 3 nights at hospital, whereas during the pandemic, 52.0% spent only 1 night. The median value changed from 3 days to 1 day. The complication rate before the pandemic of 15% dropped to 9 % during the pandemic. The readmission rate remained stable with 4% before the pandemic and 5 % during the pandemic. No difference were observed for PROMS between groups. The results of this study showed that after a hip and knee surgery, the shortening of the LOS from three to one night resulted in less complications and a stable rate of readmissions. These results are in line with literature data on enhanced recovery after hip and knee arthroplasty. The reduction of LOS for elective knee and hip arthroplasty during the pandemic period proved safe. The concept used in this study is transferable to other hospitals, and may have economic implications through reduced hospital costs

Treatment of tibial osteomyelitis can be challenging and lengthy, with numerous complications possible during rehabilitation. We report on the usage of the Taylor Spatial Frame (TSF) for a large cohort of patients, and analyse factors that affect outcomes. Between 2015-2020, 51 patients were treated with TSF for osteomyelitis at a major trauma centre. Demographic, infection and treatment factors of: age, smoking status, diabetes, and BMI, acute (<6 weeks post injury) or chronic (>6 weeks) osteomyelitis, bacteria isolated, time to debridement, therapy/surgery number of TSF, time TSF was in, antibiotic treatment period, time to partial weight bear (PWB) and full weight bear (FWB) prescriptions, were collected. Outcomes of complications and time to union were obtained. Radiological union was achieved at mean 11.0 months. Mean follow up was 24.1 months. Six and three patients were further treated with fusion and amputation respectively. Mean treatment time with TSF was 12.1 months. 78% had some complications, with pin site infection, malunion, and non-union being most prevalent. Univariate factor analysis, multicollinearity diagnostics, then multivariate model construction were performed. Staphylococcus Epidermidis in bone debridement microbiology was significantly negatively associated with pin site infection (OR 0.093, 95% CI 0.011-0.828) and malunion (OR 0.698, 95% CI 0.573-0.849), and enterococcus with non-union (OR 0.775, 95% CI 0.656-0.916), during the treatment period. Time to union was significantly positively associated with time from admission to debridement (p=0.035), time TSF was in (p=0.021), presence of complications (p=0.045), bone loss complication(p=0.037), time to FWB prescription(p=0.001). We have analysed the effectiveness of TSF in the treatment of tibial osteomyelitis, and elucidated important injury, treatment and rehabilitation factors that affect outcome. The negative bacterial-complication cross associations could be due to successful eradication as culture specific antibiotics were used postoperatively. Earlier patient full weight bearing could enhance callous formation leading to faster union

Open talus fracture are notoriously difficult to manage and they are commonly associated with a high level of complications including non-union, avascular necrosis and infection. Currently, the management of such injuries is based upon BOAST 4 guidelines although there is no suggested definitive management, thus definitive management is based upon surgeon preference. The key principles of open talus fracture management which do not vary between surgeons, however, there is much debate over whether the talus should be preserved or removed after open talus fracture/dislocation and proceeded to tibiocalcaneal fusion. A review of electronic hospital records for open talus fractures from 2014-2021 returned foureen patients with fifteen open talus fractures. Seven cases were initially managed with ORIF, five cases were definitively managed with FUSION, while the others were managed with alternative methods. We collected patient's age, gender, surgical complications, surgical risk factors and post-treatment functional ability and pain and compliance with BOAST guidelines. The average follow-up of the cohort was four years and one month. EQ-5D-5L and FAAM-ADL/Sports score was used as a patient reported outcome measure. Data was analysed using the software PRISM. Comparison between FUSION and ORIF groups showed no statistically significant difference in EQ-5D-5L score (P = 0.13), FAAM-ADL (P = 0.20), FAAM-Sport (P = 0.34), infection rate (P = 0.55), surgical times (P = 0.91) and time to weight bearing (P = 0.39), despite a higher proportion of polytrauma and Hawkins III and IV fractures in the FUSION group. FUSION is typically used as second line to ORIF or failed ORIF. However, there are a lack of studies that directly compared outcome in open talus fracture patients definitively managed with FUSION or ORIF. Our results demonstrate for the first time, that FUSION may not be inferior to ORIF in terms of patient functional outcome, infection rate, and quality-of-life, in the management of patients with open talus fracture patients. Of note, as open talus fractures have increased risks of complications such as osteonecrosis and non-union, FUSION should be considered as a viable option to mitigate these potential complications in these patients

Fractures of the prosthetic components after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) are rare but dangerous complications, sometimes difficult to diagnose and to manage. Aim of this study is to evaluate the incidence of component breakage and its treatment in our single institution's experience. We retrospectively review our institution registry. From 605 revision knee arthroplasties since 2000 to 2018, we found 8 cases of component breakage, of these 3 belonged to UKA, and 5 belonged to TKA. The UKA fractures were all on the metal tibial component; while 4 TKA fractures were ascribed to the liner (2 Posterior-Stabilized designs and 2 constrained designs) and only one case was on the femoral component. For every patient a revision procedure was performed, in two cases a tibial tubercle osteotomy was performed, while in one case (where the fracture was of the post cam) an arthroscopy was performed prior to the arthrotomy. All of the UKA fractures were treated with a standard revision implant. As regard the TKA, 2 liner fractures were treated with the only liner exchange, while the other 2 liner fractures and the fracture of the metallic component were treated with total knee revision. No intra- and post-operative complications were found. Component breakage after TKA is a serious complication. Its treatment, always surgical, can hide pitfalls, especially if the timing is not correct; indeed apart from the revision of one or more components, the surgeons must address any issues of management of bone defect and ligamentous stability

Patients with Paget's Disease of Bone (PDB) more frequently require total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, controversy remains regarding their outcome. This project aims to evaluate the current literature regarding outcomes following THA and TKA in PDB patients. MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane databases were searched on February 15th, 2022. Inclusion criteria comprised studies evaluating outcomes following THA/TKA in PDB patients. Quality of included studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. 19 articles (published between 1976–2022) were included, comprising 58,695 patients (48,766 controls and 10,018 PDB patients), from 209 potentially relevant titles. No study was of high quality. PDB patient pooled mortality was 32.5% at mean 7.8(0.1-20) years following THA and 31.0% at mean 8.5(2-20) years following TKA. PDB patient revision rate was 4.4% at mean 7.2(0-20) years following THA and 2.2% at mean 7.4(2-20) years following TKA. Renal complications, respiratory complications, heterotopic ossification, and surgical site infection were the most common medical and surgical complications. The largest systematic review, to date, evaluating outcomes following THA and TKA in PDB patients. All functional outcome scores improved. PDB patient revision rate was comparable to UK National Joint Registry. However, there is a significant need for prospective matched case-control studies to robustly compare outcomes in PDB patients with unaffected counterparts