The journal of knee surgery
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Comparative Study
Interference screw fixation using bioabsorbable screw as void filler.
We evaluated interference screw fixation in a plug-tunnel construct using bioabsorbable screws as void fillers with different percentages of the screw removed. Nine-millimeter tunnels in a closed-cell foam block were filled with a 10-mm bioabsorbable screw, and 10-mm revision tunnels were placed in parallel with tunnel overlap resulting in removal of 10%, 25%, or 50% of the screw diameter. Synthetic bone plugs were fashioned to fit 10-mm tunnels. ⋯ Using a bioabsorbable screw as void filler provided mean load to failure not different from that of standard reconstruction when 10 and 25% of the diameter of the void-filling screw was removed. Load to failure was significantly lower when 50% of the void-filling screw diameter group was removed. This may be applicable in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction where a previous tunnel void has to be addressed.
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Fibromyalgia has recently emerged as a diagnosis of exclusion for patients with chronic, widespread pain. We investigated the influence of this comorbidity on outcomes of total knee arthroplasty (TKA). We matched 59 patients (90 knees) who underwent primary TKA with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia to control patients who underwent the same surgery. ⋯ They demonstrated improvement comparable to that of controls following TKA, however. Fibromyalgia patients appear to show improvement comparable to that of controls following surgery. This syndrome should not be considered a contraindication for surgery.