Surgeons share strategies for joint preservation

Terry Stanton

Tips offered for diagnosis, FAI, PAO Preserving the hip joint to delay arthroplasty has become more common, and several surgical procedures have demonstrated pain relief and improved function. A panel of surgeons shared their perspectives and expertise on hip joint preservation at the 2011 AAOS Annual Meeting in San Diego. It starts with the diagnosis Successful treatment depends on an accurate diagnosis, but little consensus exists on how to conduct an examination, said Bryan T.

What’s your Diagnosis?

In this feature, AAOS Now publishes a series of images, challenging readers to diagnose the condition depicted. The images for this month’s challenge were submitted by Tyler Austin Cannon, MD, a resident member at the University of Tennessee–Campbell Clinic.

Second Look—Clinical News and Views

If you missed these Headline News Now items the first time around, AAOS Now gives you a second chance to review them. Headline News Now—the AAOS thrice-weekly, online update of news of interest to orthopaedic surgeons—brings you the latest on clinical, socioeconomic, and political issues, as well as important announcements from AAOS.

Meetings and Course Listings

Listed below are upcoming continuing medical education (CME) courses and orthopaedic meetings (May through mid August 2011). For more information about AAOS-sponsored courses, contact the AAOS customer service department at (800) 626-6726 or visit the CME course section of the AAOS Web site at www.aaos.org/courses For more information about other CME courses or orthopaedic meetings listed, contact the source provided.

ATVs: Injuries are part of the terrain

Terry Stanton

Children account for a disturbing proportion of four-wheeler accidents Since all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) were introduced in the United States in the 1970s, their popularity and use have risen almost exponentially. Just as dramatic as the increase in use has been the number of injuries associated with ATV accidents. The number of annual ATV-related injuries has increased from 10,100 in 1982 to 58,200 by 1992, and to more than 150,000 in 2007.

Disaster-relief orthopaedics

Mary Ann Porucznik

What you need to know before you go In recent years, orthopaedic surgeons from around the world have been called upon to respond to catastrophic disasters. Whether a tsunami in southeast Asia, a flood in New Orleans, or an earthquake in Haiti, these disasters require massive relief efforts.

PRP does not improve rotator cuff healing

Two separate randomized trials show no benefit to using PRP fibrin matrix Improving healing after a rotator cuff tendon repair is an ongoing problem for orthopaedic surgeons world wide. In two separate studies—one European and one American—presented at the AAOS 2011 Annual Meeting, researchers found that one of the latest tools for healing injuries, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), does not make a big difference.

ABOS Certification: The basics

Shepard R. Hurwitz, MD; Stephen Albanese, MD

Board certification in orthopaedic surgery has been a tradition since 1934, when the first certificates were awarded by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS). The process of certification has changed greatly in the following years but the mission of the ABOS has not changed. The ABOS certifies surgeons to “serve the best interests of the public and the medical profession.”

Limiting the pitch count for young athletes

Lisa Weisenberger

For years, sports medicine professionals have been concerned about youth pitching injuries and the stress the motion causes on developing bones and muscles. According to the results of “Risk of Serious Injury for Young Baseball Players: A 10-Year Prospective Study,” those concerns are valid. The study, published in the March 2011 issue of The American Journal of Sports Medicine, found that participants who pitched more than 100 innings in a year were 3.5 times more likely to be injured.

New techniques improve cartilage imaging

Terry Stanton

dGEMRIC leads pack of new biochemical methods It’s no secret that hip disorders can be devastating—for both patients and society. In the young adult patient with hip pain, the tendency has been to delay intervention until the problems are severe. “The impression is that persistent hip pain in the young adult is an infrequent problem. Early symptoms may be minor and early solutions are difficult,” said Paul E. Beaulé, MD. Dr.

Bearing surfaces: Is MOM worth the risk?

Mary Ann Porucznik

Implications differ, depending on use and patient A metal-on-metal (MOM) articulation at the hip joint has a number of benefits, Thomas P. Schmalzried, MD, told members of The Hip Society and the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons during the 2011 Specialty Day Program. But, depending on the application and the patient, MOM hip implants also present risks that may outweigh those benefits. And in those situations, alternative bearing surfaces may be more appropriate.

Preop screening reduces SSI rates after TJA

Jennie McKee

At the 2011 Annual Meeting in San Diego, Scott M. Sporer, MD, reported that implementing a preoperative Staphylococcus screening and treatment program among total joint arthroplasty (TJA) patients at his institution decreased the surgical-site infection (SSI) rate by 82 percent.

Trauma myths—BUSTED!

Terry Stanton

In trauma medicine, decisions are made quickly. Surgeons rely on their knowledge, training, and experience to choose the appropriate course of treatment. But in some situations, controversy surrounds the management of trauma patients. What a surgeon believes to be appropriate treatment—and what may have been successful treatment in his or her experience—may not be supported by the literature or the evidence.