Structural allografts may be used to manage uncontained bone defects in revision total knee replacement (TKR). However, the availability of cadaver grafts is limited in some areas of Asia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mid-term outcome of the use of femoral head allografts for the reconstruction of uncontained defects in revision TKR, focusing on complications related to the graft.

We retrospectively reviewed 28 patients (30 TKRs) with Anderson Orthopaedic Research Institute (AORI) type 3 bone defects, who underwent revision using femoral head allografts and stemmed components. The mean number of femoral heads used was 1.7 (1 to 3). The allograft–host junctions were packed with cancellous autograft.

At a mean follow-up of 76 months (38 to 136) the mean American Knee Society knee score improved from 37.2 (17 to 60) pre-operatively to 90 (83 to 100) (p < 0.001). The mean function score improved from 26.5 (0 to 50) pre-operatively to 81 (60 to 100) (p < 0.001). All the grafts healed to the host bone. The mean time to healing of the graft was 6.6 months (4 to 16). There have been no complications of collapse of the graft, nonunion, infection or implant loosening. No revision surgery was required.

The use of femoral head allografts in conjunction with a stemmed component and autogenous bone graft in revision TKR in patients with uncontained bone defects resulted in a high rate of healing of the graft with minimal complications and a satisfactory outcome. Longer follow-up is needed to observe the evolution of the graft.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2013;95-B:643–8.

Injury to the spinal cord and kyphosis are the two most feared complications of tuberculosis of the spine. Since tuberculosis affects principally the vertebral bodies, anterior decompression is usually recommended. Concomitant posterior instrumentation is indicated to neutralise gross instability from panvertebral disease, to protect the anterior bone graft, to prevent graft-related complications after anterior decompression in long-segment disease and to correct a kyphosis. Two-stage surgery is usually performed in these cases. We present 38 consecutive patients with tuberculosis of the spine for whom anterior decompression, posterior instrumentation, with or without correction of the kyphus, and anterior and posterior fusion was performed in a single stage through an anterolateral extrapleural approach. Their mean age was 20.4 years (2.0 to 57.0). The indications for surgery were panvertebral disease, neurological deficit and severe kyphosis. The patients were operated on in the left lateral position using a ‘T’-shaped incision sited at the apex of kyphosis or lesion. Three ribs were removed in 34 patients and two in four and anterior decompression of the spinal cord was carried out. The posterior vertebral column was shortened to correct the kyphus, if necessary, and was stabilised by a Hartshill rectangle and sublaminar wires. Anterior and posterior bone grafting was performed. The mean number of vertebral bodies affected was 3.24 (2.0 to 9.0). The mean pre-operative kyphosis in patients operated on for correction of the kyphus was 49.08° (30° to 72°) and there was a mean correction of 25° (6° to 42°). All except one patient with a neural deficit recovered complete motor and sensory function. The mean intra-operative blood loss was 1175 ml (800 to 2600), and the mean duration of surgery 3.5 hours (2.7 to 5.0). Wound healing was uneventful in 33 of 38 patients. The mean follow-up was 33 months (11 to 74). None of the patients required intensive care. The extrapleural anterolateral approach provides simultaneous exposure of the anterior and posterior aspects of the spine, thereby allowing decompression of the spinal cord, posterior stabilisation and anterior and posterior bone grafting. This approach has much less morbidity than the two-stage approaches which have been previously described

Aims. Although internal hemipelvectomy is associated with a high incidence of morbidity, especially wound complications, few studies have examined rates of wound complications in these patients or have identified factors associated with the consequences. The present study aimed to: 1) determine the rate of wound and other complications requiring surgery after internal hemipelvectomy; and 2) identify factors that affect the rate of wound complications and can be used to stratify patients by risk of wound complications. Methods. The medical records of 123 patients undergoing internal hemipelvectomy were retrospectively reviewed, with a focus on both overall complications and wound complications. Logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the association between host, tumour, and surgical factors and rates of postoperative wound complications. Results. The overall rate of postoperative complications requiring surgery was 49.6%. Wound complications were observed in 34.1% of patients, hardware-related complications in 13.2%, graft-related complications in 9.1%, and local recurrence in 5.7%. On multivariate analysis, extrapelvic tumour extension (odds ratio (OR) 23.28; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.97 to 274.67; p = 0.012), both intra- and extrapelvic tumour extension (OR 46.48; 95% CI, 3.50 to 617.77; p = 0.004), blood transfusion ≥ 20 units (OR 50.28; 95% CI, 1.63 to 1550.32; p = 0.025), vascular sacrifice of the internal iliac artery (OR 64.56; 95% CI, 6.33 to 658.43; p < 0.001), and use of a structural allograft (OR, 6.57; 95% CI, 1.70 to 25.34; p = 0.001) were significantly associated with postoperative wound complications. Conclusion. Internal hemipelvectomy is associated with high rates of morbidity, especially wound complications. Several host, tumour, and surgical variables are associated with wound complications. The ability to stratify patients by risk of wound complications can help refine surgical and wound-healing planning and may lead to better outcomes in patients undergoing internal hemipelvectomy. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2020;102-B(3):280–284

Matrix-induced autologous chondrocyte implantation (MACI) is an established technique used to treat osteochondral lesions in the knee. For larger osteochondral lesions (> 5 cm. 2. ) deeper than approximately 8 mm we have combined the use of two MACI membranes with impaction grafting of the subchondral bone. We report our results of 14 patients who underwent the ‘bilayer collagen membrane’ technique (BCMT) with a mean follow-up of 5.2 years (2 to 8). There were 12 men and two women with a mean age of 23.6 years (16 to 40). The mean size of the defect was 7.2 cm. 2. (5.2 to 12 cm. 2. ) and were located on the medial (ten) or lateral (four) femoral condyles. The mean modified Cincinnati knee score improved from 45.1 (22 to 70) pre-operatively to 82.8 (34 to 98) at the most recent review (p < 0.05). The visual analogue pain score improved from 7.3 (4 to 10) to 1.7 (0 to 6) (p < 0.05). Twelve patients were considered to have a good or excellent clinical outcome. One graft failed at six years. The BCMT resulted in excellent functional results and durable repair of large and deep osteochondral lesions without a high incidence of graft-related complications

Autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) is used widely as a treatment for symptomatic chondral and osteochondral defects of the knee. Variations of the original periosteum-cover technique include the use of porcine-derived type I/type III collagen as a cover (ACI-C) and matrix-induced autologous chondrocyte implantation (MACI) using a collagen bilayer seeded with chondrocytes. We have performed a prospective, randomised comparison of ACI-C and MACI for the treatment of symptomatic chondral defects of the knee in 91 patients, of whom 44 received ACI-C and 47 MACI grafts.

Both treatments resulted in improvement of the clinical score after one year. The mean modified Cincinnati knee score increased by 17.6 in the ACI-C group and 19.6 in the MACI group (p = 0.32). Arthroscopic assessments performed after one year showed a good to excellent International Cartilage Repair Society score in 79.2% of ACI-C and 66.6% of MACI grafts. Hyaline-like cartilage or hyaline-like cartilage with fibrocartilage was found in the biopsies of 43.9% of the ACI-C and 36.4% of the MACI grafts after one year. The rate of hypertrophy of the graft was 9% (4 of 44) in the ACI-C group and 6% (3 of 47) in the MACI group. The frequency of re-operation was 9% in each group.

We conclude that the clinical, arthroscopic and histological outcomes are comparable for both ACI-C and MACI. While MACI is technically attractive, further long-term studies are required before the technique is widely adopted.