The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume
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J Bone Joint Surg Am · Apr 2009
Outcome of lumbar arthrodesis in patients sixty-five years of age or older.
The value of lumbar spine arthrodesis in older patients is not well documented. As most of the literature regarding lumbar arthrodesis in older patients has focused on the prevalence of complications, the purpose of this study was to determine the clinical outcomes for older compared with younger patients undergoing lumbar arthrodesis. ⋯ This study demonstrates a substantial benefit for patients sixty-five years of age or older with degenerative disc disease who are treated with a single-level lumbar decompression and instrumented arthrodesis, and we conclude that lumbar arthrodesis is a viable and reasonable treatment option for appropriately selected patients sixty-five years of age or older.
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J Bone Joint Surg Am · Apr 2009
The value of mentorship in orthopaedic surgery resident education: the residents' perspective.
The concept of mentoring is believed to be influential in an effective medical and surgical educational environment. Several authors have discussed the issue of mentorship and its challenges, yet no one has studied the prevalence of mentoring among orthopaedic residency programs and its perceived value from the orthopaedic residents' perspective. ⋯ Residents with mentors, residents in mentoring programs, and residents who selected their own mentors had higher satisfaction with their mentoring environment than did those with no formal mentoring program. Residency programs should consider establishing formal mentorship programs and encourage residents to select their own mentors.
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J Bone Joint Surg Am · Apr 2009
Comparative StudyPrediction of midfoot instability in the subtle Lisfranc injury. Comparison of magnetic resonance imaging with intraoperative findings.
The objective of the present study was to assess the utility of magnetic resonance imaging for the diagnosis of an injury to the Lisfranc and adjacent ligaments and to determine whether conventional magnetic resonance imaging is a reliable diagnostic tool, with manual stress radiographic evaluation with the patient under anesthesia and surgical findings being used as a reference standard. ⋯ Magnetic resonance imaging is accurate for detecting traumatic injury of the Lisfranc ligament and for predicting Lisfranc joint complex instability when the plantar Lisfranc ligament bundle is used as a predictor. Rupture or grade-2 sprain of the plantar ligament between the first cuneiform and the bases of the second and third metatarsals is highly suggestive of an unstable midfoot, for which surgical stabilization has been recommended. The appearance of a normal ligament is suggestive of a stable midfoot, and documentation of its integrity may obviate the need for a manual stress radiographic evaluation under anesthesia for a patient with equivocal clinical and radiographic examinations.
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Researchers have found it difficult to recreate a Lauge-Hansen supination-external rotation-type ankle fracture in experimental settings. We hypothesized that a pronation-external rotation mechanism could cause both distal, short oblique and high fibular fractures and that the fracture type would be affected by associated, laterally directed forces applied to the foot. Methlods: Twenty-three cadaver ankles were subjected to fracture loading that replicated the Lauge-Hansen pronation-external rotation mechanism with or without applying an external lateral force. In Phase I, an axial load was applied to fifteen specimens mounted on a materials testing machine. Each foot was rotated externally to failure. In Phase II, eight specimens were tested according to the Phase-I protocol, but external forces were applied laterally at the foot to increase the abduction moment at the ankle. Load and position versus time curves were recorded and were correlated with video image data to establish the sequence of failure of specific anatomic structures. ⋯ This study generated counterexamples to the Lauge-Hansen classification system by showing that a short oblique fracture of the distal end of the fibula can occur with the foot in the pronated position. Furthermore, a high fibular fracture was recreated by increasing the abduction moment at the ankle.