CPG on OA Knee Treatment Authors Respond

We appreciate and respect the comments by David E. Rojer, MD, on the AAOS clinical practice guideline (CPG) “The Treatment of Osteoarthritis (OA) of the Knee” (“Setting AAOS Now Straight: CPG on OA Knee Disappoints,” AAOS Now, September 2013), and we understand his concerns regarding its use. A CPG is not a set of rules or protocols and is not intended to be followed in a “cookbook” fashion.

Email Office Visit: Third-Rate Romance, Low-Rent Rendezvous

S. Terry Canale, MD

Recently, I have read an increasing number of articles concerning physicians who communicate with patients by email about their medical conditions and treatments. The Wall Street Journal has reported that 33 percent of physicians exchanged emailed with patients in 2012, up from 27 percent 5 years earlier; the percentage who text with patients rose from 12 percent to 18 percent. S.

I’m Proud to Be an Orthopaedic Surgeon

Michael F. Schafer, MD

All areas of medicine have a fascinating history that show how far we have come. Some treatments that were once thought cutting-edge are now seen as resulting from insufficient knowledge and understanding of disease processes. Take, for example, the following scenario, described in Moving Stories: Seventy-five Years of Orthopaedic Surgery: “It was awful.

In Memoriam

Marcos Enrique Amongero, MD Aug. 19, 2013 Dayton, Ohio Frank A. Bersani, MD March 14, 2013 Skaneateles, N.Y. Ray W. Covington, MD May 14, 2013 Waco, Texas Gregory John Fulchiero, MD July 7, 2013 Altoona, Pa. George Monroe Hill, MD May 28, 2013 Birmingham, Ala. Alfred E. Kristensen, MD Sept. 10, 2013 Jacksonville, Fla. Joseph R. Mariotti, MD Oct. 5, 2013 Pinole, Calif.

Readers Share Stories of In-Flight Emergencies

In response to the cover story “On Call at 30,000 Feet” and the editorial by S. Terry Canale, MD, “Is There a Doctor on Board This Flight?” in the September 2013 issue of AAOS Now, several readers shared their own stories of treating in-flight emergencies. David W. Polly Jr, MD, is no stranger to flying or flight emergencies. Dr. Polly, chief of spine service at the University of Minnesota, wrote that he has about 1.