Ankle Fusion, TAR Have Similar Outcomes at 5 Years

Terry Stanton

According to data presented at the 2012 American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) Annual Meeting, functional outcomes for patients who underwent either total ankle replacement (TAR) or ankle fusion were roughly equivalent 5 years after surgery. The report on the multicenter study, conducted by Timothy R. Daniels, MD, and the Canadian Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (COFAS) ankle arthritis research group, was the 2012 recipient of the AOFAS Roger A. Mann Award.

Second Look- Clinical News and Views

Obesity issues take center stage A report released jointly by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Trust for America’s Health estimates that the number of obese adults, along with related disease rates and healthcare costs, will increase dramatically in the United States over the next 20 years. According to “F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2012,” by 2030, adult obesity rates in all 50 states would top 44 percent. The Sept.

What’s Your Diagnosis?

In this feature, AAOS Now publishes a series of images, challenging readers to diagnose the condition depicted. This month’s challenge was submitted by Marc Biggers, MD, a resident member at the University of Tennessee–Campbell Clinic. The patient is a 60-year-old male with a history of chronic low back pain who came to the clinic with a 5-day history of worsening low back pain. He also has begun to notice a burning pain radiating down his medial thigh to his knee.

Collagenase Treatments for Dupuytren’s Show Good Midterm Results

Terry Stanton

A 3-year follow-up of patients with Dupuytren’s contracture who were treated with collagenase clostridium histolyticum (CCH) found that nearly two thirds did not have any recurrence, while those who experienced recurrence did so slowly and did not reach baseline levels. The results were presented at the 2012 annual meeting of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand by F. Thomas D. Kaplan, MD, of the Indiana Hand to Shoulder Center.

Virtual Reality and Surgical Simulation Development Continues

Howard Mevis

AAOS, AANA, OTA moving forward on simulation-based training Howard Mevis One year ago, the AAOS conducted a Surgical Simulation Summit for orthopaedic surgery. (See “Using Simulation, Metrics to Improve Orthopaedic Surgical Skills,” AAOS Now, February 2012.

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: Lifetime certificate holders have no reason to participate in MOC. FACT: The approximate 14,000 diplomates who hold lifetime certificates (ie, those who obtained their board certification before 1986) are not required by the ABOS to participate in the MOC process.

Clinical Orthopaedic Society Celebrates Centennial

Chicago’s Palmer House Hotel has been the site of several historic events—including the first annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. But orthopaedics had ties to the Palmer House long before that meeting. In 1912, the Central States Orthopaedic Club was founded with 38 members and held its first meeting at the Palmer House; John Lincoln Porter of Chicago was the first president.

Changing the Paradigm for Diagnosing and Treating Arthritis

Maureen Leahy

Osteoarthritis (OA) affects approximately 27 million Americans—and one in four Americans older than age 60 experiences significant pain and disability due to OA. Yet, despite its chronic, progressive, and debilitating effects, OA is not treated in the same way as other chronic diseases. “Patients with OA might be better served by changing the practice paradigm from the current episodic and reactive approach to one that is similar to other chronic diseases.

Face Off: The Value of Epidural Steroid Injections

POINT: ESIs are of value in treating LSS Seyed Babak “Bobby” Kalantar, MD Nonsurgical vs. surgical treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) has been compared in the randomized and observational Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT), which demonstrated a statistically signficant advantage to surgery over nonsurgical management in the as-treated analysis. Nonsurgical treatment, however, did also result in a modest improvement in outcome measures.

Your MOC Status is Going Public in 2013

MOC participants must be registered with the ABOS Beginning in September 2013, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) will make public whether board-certified orthopaedists are meeting their Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requirements via the ABMS’ Certification Matters website at www.certificationmatters.

Applying a Factory Model to Knee Surgery

Terry Stanton

What can medicine learn from a national restaurant chain? In a recent article in The New Yorker, Atul Gawan-de, MD, author of The Checklist Manifesto, made the case that the standardized operating methods used in food service might be good for healthcare services as well. Dr. Gawande’s article examined the approach taken by The Cheesecake Factory restaurants to providing a quality product on a consistent level with little waste.