North Dakota Community Challenges Selling of Nonautologous Stem Cell Injections

Duncan Ackerman, MD

Regenerative medicine and the utilization of stem cells to treat countless diseases have expanded rapidly over the past several years. Although the science and purpose seem promising, proving the efficacy and determining what types of cells to utilize for particular diseases remain challenging. Although many physicians perform autologous cell transfers for patients, most would agree that this practice is less controversial than nonautologous (e.g., umbilical cord blood) transfers.

Study Probes Effect of Tibial Component Positioning in Ankle Arthroplasty

Terry Stanton

Acadaveric study of the role of tibial component position in altering kinematics following total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) with a modern fixed-bearing device found normal joint action in the coronal and sagittal planes. Increased internal rotation in the transverse planes was associated with medial positioning of the tibial component.

Study Follows Up on Skeletally Immature Patients with Osteochondritis Dissecans in the Knee

Terry Stanton

Skeletally immature patients who had osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) in the knee demonstrated “clinically promising outcomes” at 14 years of follow-up, according to a study presented during the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Annual Meeting.

Study Compares Tendon Autografts for ACL Reconstruction in Young Females

Maureen Leahy

Research presented during the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine 2018 Annual Meeting found that the use of bone-patellar tendon-bone (BTB) autograft for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction in females 15–20 years old yielded better outcomes than quadruple hamstring (HS) autograft. The study was presented by Kevin B. Freedman, MD, of Rothman Orthopaedics in Philadelphia. Dr.

Kevin Shea, MD, and Jayson Murray, MA, Shed Light on Appropriate Use Criteria

Alan M. Reznik, MD, MBA, FAAOS

A lot of buzzwords, abbreviations, and criticisms exist in medicine today. Quality, value, and even standards of care are moving targets based on evolving healthcare trends. Increasingly, we hear about appropriate use criteria (AUC) and clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) as tools that summarize evidence and fill gaps when evidence is unavailable.

Communication Breakdown: A Personal Account

Michael R. Marks, MD, MBA

Editor’s note: This article concludes a two-part series on shared decision making and patient-centered care. The previous article, “Communication Skills Are Critical to Improving Patient-centered Care and Shared Decision Making.” In 2018, my wife was involved in a serious skiing accident and had to be taken down the mountain in a sled by the ski patrol and transported by ambulance to a local hospital.

Knee Arthroscopy and Osteoarthritis: The Numbers Rarely Add Up to 29880

Timothy L. Miller, MD

Knee arthroscopy is one of the most commonly performed procedures in orthopaedics. It is a standard practice for academic sports medicine specialists, and it also is a staple among general, community-based orthopaedic surgery practices. However, over the past decade, the utility of arthroscopy for the treatment of patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) has become increasingly questioned.