When There Isn’t Time to Lose Weight

Mary Ann Porucznik

“Trauma surgery isn’t like elective orthopaedic surgery; you can’t tell the patient to lose 50 pounds before you’ll operate,” said George V. Russell, MD, of the University of Mississippi. “In my practice, the ‘normal’ patient has a body mass index (BMI) between 30 and 35; it’s culturally acceptable for people to be obese.” According to Dr. Russell, when two key epidemics—trauma and obesity—collide, the impact can be devastating for the patient and challenging for the surgeon.

Concussion No Longer on the Sidelines

Peter Pollack

“A dislocated ankle is easy to see, and we have a fairly systematic way of treating it,” said Kevin M. Guskiewicz, PhD, ATC-L, speaking during the AAOS Annual Meeting symposium on “New Concepts Regarding Athletic Induced Mild Traumatic (Concussion) and Catastrophic Brain Injuries.” “But concussion is not so obvious, and we need to take that into account when dealing with it.” Dr.

Do Patients Get What They Expect?

Maureen Leahy

Most patients with full-thickness rotator cuff tears (RCT) respond well to nonsurgical treatment; however, rehabilitation is not effective in all patients. A key predictor in indentifying which patients will respond to nonsurgical treatment may be patient expectations of the effectiveness of physical therapy (PT). During the American Shoulder and Elbow (ASES) Specialty Day, Warren R.

The State of Orthopaedic Resident Education

Jennie McKee

According to Paul Tornetta, III, MD, educating orthopaedic residents involves a wide range of challenges, from the 80-hour resident work week mandated by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), to residents’ own attitudes about which activities and tasks are most and least educational. Dr.

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 Howard R. Epps, MD, of Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. Dr. Epps explains that this 10-year-old girl was referred to him by her pediatrician for evaluation of a developing mass on her foot. The mass was first noticed 4 years earlier and has grown slowly over time.

Stay One Step Ahead of MOC Deadlines

Shepard R. Hurwitz, MD

Shepard R. Hurwitz, MD In this column, I will provide a rundown on some of the requirements and deadlines, as well as some tips for staying ahead of the curve when it comes to MOC.

Orthopaedic Residency Requirements Changing

Robert F. Murphy, MD

Major changes to the postgraduate year 1 (PGY-1) in orthopaedic residency programs went into effect on July 1, 2013. Under new rules from the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), PGY-1 orthopaedic interns will have twice as much exposure to surgery and surgical skills than previously. Instead of only 3 months of orthopaedic rotations, orthopaedic PGY-1 residents will now be required to complete a total of 6 months.