AAOS releases new statement on antibiotics after arthroplasty

Mary Ann Porucznik

Comprehensive “information statement” puts patient safety first In February 2009, the AAOS Board of Directors approved the release of the information statement “Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Bacteremia in Patients with Joint Replacements.”

Questioning guidelines, radiation research

I read with interest Dr. Canale’s editorial “You can (guide) a horse to water ...” in the March AAOS Now. I do appreciate that the AAOS guidelines supposedly protect us from malpractice actions by providing a set of guidelines. I have been provided by my colleagues with a substantially differing view from Chest (2009;135:513-520), which goes to some length to criticize the AAOS published guidelines for the prevention of thromboembolism.

Court upholds expert witness qualifications

Melissa Young, JD

On March 13, 2009, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld that state’s expert witness qualifications statute. The statute requires medical experts testifying in medical liability actions to meet certain minimum qualifications such as licensure and certification. The American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) filed an amicus curiae brief in the successful appeal.

American orthopaedics reaches out to Afghanistan

At the direct request of U.S. military and Afghani orthopaedists assigned to the National Military Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, AAOS recently sent a collection of orthopaedic textbooks, CD ROMs, and journals to supplement the hospital’s medical library. When the materials arrived, the orthopaedic team in Kabul was so pleased that they posed for a photo. Pictured are (back row, left to right) Drs. Raffi, Zubair, Najib, Akbar, and Sami, of the National Military Hospital, and LCDR Robert C.

In Memoriam

Martin E. Anderson, MD Aug. 15, 2008 Denver, Colo. Jack D. Aron, MD North Miami Beach, Fla. George K. Carpenter Jr., MD Sept. 13, 2008 Nashville, Tenn. Raymond A. Case Jr., MD April 29, 2007 Portland, Ore. George V. B. Cochran, MD Ossining, N.Y. Wyllys A. Dunham Jr., MD Queensbury, N.Y. Irving P. Eney, MD March 29, 2009 Chestertown, Md. Nathaniel Gould, MD Nov. 1, 2008 Birmingham, Ala. Leonard J. Infranca, MD Plainsboro, N.J.

Tools and Technology Update

DePuy lanches products at AAOS Annual Meeting DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. (DePuy) launched the following new products at the 2009 AAOS Annual Meeting: the Anatomic Locked Plating Systems (ALPS) for hand and distal fibula fractures; the Sigma® High Performance (HP) Partial Knee; the Sigma® CR150 High-Flex Knee; and the aSphere™ M-Spec Femoral Head. The company also unveiled customized patient instrumentation, TruMatch™ Personalized Solutions, for knee replacement.

Clinician alert on swine flu

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), clinicians should consider the possibility of swine influenza virus infections in patients presenting with febrile respiratory illness. Because one of the symptoms of swine flu is joint pain, orthopaedic surgeons should be alert to patients who present with arthralgia and one or more of the following symptoms: fever, cough, sore throat, headache, chills, and fatigue.

An emerging emergent clinic: It’s all about the patient

I work for an orthopaedic clinic that is celebrating 100 years of orthopaedic care in the community. To commemorate this milestone, we decided to establish an “after-hours night clinic.” We wanted to send the following messages to the community: This clinic has provided orthopaedic care for 100 years and is a stable pillar of the community We are willing to try something new and exciting for our patients—something to make access to patient care easier.

“The Art of Medicine”

Frank M. Griffin, MD

We’ve all heard the phrase, but what does it mean? Politicians constantly mention “science” and “technology” as the means to improve health care and decrease its cost. It seems like we should be able to computerize medicine. We could develop a computer program that uses the scientific literature to catalog symptoms and diseases and associates them with certain guidelines. The computer could then simply spit out the right treatment. We could standardize medicine. Streamline it.

Orthopaedics Overseas celebrates 50 years of service

R. Richard Coughlin, MD, MSc

Bringing medical experience and education to needy countries Orthopaedics Overseas (OO), an idea that grew into an organization, is celebrating 50 years of global service in 2009. The idea originated with the Orthopaedic Letters Club, which, at an AAOS meeting in January 1959, appointed a committee to look into ways “to donate medical practice, experience, and teaching” to needy countries.

Profiles in compassion: Orthopaedic humanitarians

Jennie McKee

Orthopaedists help dispel the specialty’s ‘low-touch’ image Stephen M. McCollam, MD, is one of many orthopaedists helping to change the public’s perception of orthopaedic surgeons as “low-touch” physicians whose empathy for patients doesn’t match their surgical acumen (see cover story on the 2008 AAOS orthopaedic image study). As AAOS Now went to press, Dr. McCollam was preparing for his annual trip to Haiti, where he and other orthopaedists provide care to impoverished patients. Dr.

Apply now for the LFP

The Leadership Fellows Program (LFP) offers an exciting opportunity to all AAOS fellows who are age 45 and younger as of Jan. 31, 2010.

AAOS adds disclosure requirement for abstract submissions

Kathie Niesen, CMP

All conflicts of interest must be disclosed when abstracts are submitted AAOS members, residents, and other orthopaedic professionals are invited to submit abstracts for the AAOS 2010 Annual Meeting, to be held in New Orleans, March 10–13. This is your opportunity to share your knowledge and present your research—via a podium presentation, poster, scientific exhibit, or electronic media program—at the most important educational event in orthopaedics.

Pat on the back…

New officers of the Cervical Spine Research Society (CSRS): Todd J. Albert, MD, president; Thomas A. Zdeblick, MD, past-president; John G. Heller, MD, president-elect; Sanford E. Emery, MD, MBA, vice president; Alan S. Hilibrand, MD, treasurer; and Bruce V. Darden II, MD, secretary. New officers of the J. Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society: Charles L. Nelson, MD, president; James A. Hill, MD, past-president; Alvin H. Crawford, MD, vice-president; Melvyn A.