Reconstructing the ACL

Catherine Rategan

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a major stabilizer of the knee, enabling not only sports activities but also many of the activities of daily living. More than 200,000 patients are diagnosed each year in the United States with ACL disruptions, and as many as 175,000 of those cases require surgery. Natalie L.

Pain Relief: What Can We Do?

David C. Ring, MD, PhD

Nociception is the physiology of actual or potential tissue damage. Laceration, sprain, strain, dislocation, fracture, and surgery all create nociception. Pain is the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral response to nociception. The degree of variation in pain for a given nociception is remarkable. As orthopaedic surgeons, we see injured athletes and wounded soldiers with significant tissue damage but little pain. We also see patients who have substantial pain and no detectable nociception.

Managing Sex-Based Metastatic Malignancies

Margaret M. Baker, MD

Aside from skin cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer are the most common malignancies among women and men, respectively, in the United States. New cases exceed primary bone and joint cancers by a 163:1 ratio. Although orthopaedic surgeons may see few primary bone cancers during their careers, they should expect to see metastatic disease frequently.

ORS Forum Focuses on Clinical Decision Making

Amber Blake

The Orthopaedic Research Society’s (ORS) Clinical Research Forum has become one of the organization’s most popular annual meeting events. This year, the forum will be held on Sunday, March 29, at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, from 12:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. “The format is intense but short,” said organizer Kurt P. Spindler, MD.

Specialty Societies Tackle Performance Measures

Mary Ann Porucznik

During the Board of Councilors and Board of Specialty Societies 2014 fall meeting, representatives from the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS) and the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA) joined Kevin J. Bozic, MD, MBA, chair of the AAOS Council on Research and Quality, in a discussion on performance measures. Dr. Bozic began by providing examples of different types of performance measures as well as the pros and cons of each type.