Per Miles Traveled, Motorcycles Are Deadlier than Cars

Mary Ann Porucznik

“I have a love–hate relationship with motorcycles,” admitted Ronald W. Lindsey, MD, at the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons 2012 annual meeting. “I’d like to think they’ve helped make me the surgeon that I am; at the same time, over the years I’ve had the chance to see how they’ve destroyed many of my patients and their families.” In providing a “Modern Perspective on the Epidemiology and Patterns of Musculoskeletal Motorcycle Injuries,” Dr.

A Different Viewpoint

Shepard R. Hurwitz, MD

In all aspects of professional life, change is inevitable—and not all bad. The residency experience will continue to change as medicine, technology, our understanding of how learning occurs, and life itself change. The experiences and challenges faced by those who went through residency before the ACGME was established are not better or worse than the experiences and challenges facing today’s residents, but they were very different. Dr.

Mentoring in Resident Education: How to Make it Work

Chad A. Krueger, MD; Daniel J. Stinner, MD; James R. Ficke, MD

Mentoring can be a powerful professional development tool and is widely considered an important aspect of resident training. Although several orthopaedic organizations have mentoring programs, most residency programs don’t use formal programs. According to the results of a survey published in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (2009), 96 percent of residents thought that mentorship was critical to their education and development as orthopaedic surgeons.

Issues Surround Replantation Services

Terry Stanton

Thanks to advancements in microsurgery, limbs or fingers that have been accidentally severed can often be reattached. But replantation services are not readily available—even at Level 1 trauma centers. According to L. Scott Levin, MD, FACS, only 60 percent of Level 1 trauma centers have replantation services available every day at all times, and the number of such centers has declined “precipitously” over the past decade.

High Failure Rates Seen for Allograft in Younger ACL Patients

Terry Stanton

The rate of reoperation and graft failure following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with the use of allograft is not only higher than that for autograft but considerably higher in younger patients, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Arthroscopy Association of North America. In light of these findings, the authors of the study, which was presented by Lutul D.

Controversies in Diagnosis and Management of FAI

AAOS/ORS co-sponsored research symposium explores challenges, implications for clinical practice Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) in young adults can lead to the development of osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip, a leading cause of reduced quality of life and loss of function. In addition, arthroplasty to treat lower extremity OA is both common and costly—the number of total hip arthroplasty procedures is expected to increase by 200 percent over the next two decades.

Second Look-Clinical News and Views

Smith & Nephew withdraws metal hip liner MedPage Today reported that Smith & Nephew has initiated a voluntary market withdrawal of the optional metal liner component of the company’s R3 Acetabular System. The company states that the withdrawal was implemented after a review of the product and a finding that the company was “not satisfied with the clinical results.”

MOC Myths—BUSTED!

In this feature, AAOS Now explores common misconceptions about the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery’s (ABOS) Maintenance of Certification® (MOC) process. MYTH: I took the cognitive examination recently, so I don’t need to plan for MOC for a while. FACT: Not so, according to Shepard R. Hurwitz, MD, ABOS executive director. “MOC requires your ongoing participation and attention; it’s not simply about taking a recertification examination,” Dr. Hurwitz said.

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 Thomas Alexander Jr, MD, a resident member at the University of Tennessee–Campbell Clinic. Dr. Alexander also provided the following information: The patient is an 18-year-old male with a 5-month history of gradually worsening dorsal midfoot pain.

At the Crossroads: Academic Orthopaedics and the ACGME

Richard H. Gross, MD

What is the best way to train a surgical resident? This has been debated for generations, but now some educators think they have an answer. And, as members of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), these educators may have more than a little to say about how orthopaedic surgeons are trained in the near future. Prior to the formation of the ACGME in 1981, there weren’t strict rules governing the education of physicians.