Arthroscopy News

Newly trained, board-eligible orthopedic surgeons were more likely to perform arthroscopic distal clavicle excision compared to open treatment for acromioclavicular joint arthritis, according to results published in Arthroscopy.

The FORTE Summer School this year takes place across 5 full days of lectures from 2 to 6 July in Milan with both a Comprehensive Review Course of knowledge for junior residents and an European Board of Orthopedics and Traumatology preparation course for residents approaching the exam. The format of the FORTE Summer School provides time for the exchange of clinical and training experiences and the opportunity to network with participants from more than 20 countries, as well as expert faculty from the European specialist societies during the formal and informal social programs.

NEW ORLEANS — At the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting, Kirk A. Campbell, MD, discussed a study that compared the use of oral NSAIDS vs. standard opioids in patients who underwent arthroscopic meniscectomy. 

Rotator cuff tears are a common shoulder injury. Massive tears, which are defined as more than 5 cm in diameter or tears that involve two or more tendons, occur in about 10% to 20% of cases. Massive cuff tears usually present among older patients due to degenerated shoulder tendons and muscles, sources told Orthopedics Today.

Massive rotator cuff tears are typically defined as rupture of at least two of the four rotator cuff tendons and/or retraction away from the attachment site of 5 cm or greater. Thus, these are generally accepted as more challenging repairs with a longer recovery. Tendon healing to bone biologically takes 3 months. Strengthening typically will not start until after this time, and therefore maximal recovery of strength can take up to 1 year. We must proceed with caution when rehabbing massive repairs as these repairs are at the highest risk for either re-rupture or not healing. Meta-analyses show the overall re-tear rate of all rotator cuff repairs is around 26%; however, when massive repairs are isolated, some studies report up to a 91% non-healing rate. Although many factors are important in predicting which rotator cuff tears will not heal, the size of the tear is paramount. Several studies have shown that despite many repairs not healing, clinical outcomes are still good. However, it has been shown shoulder strength is better if the repair heals and, therefore, every attempt should be made to ensure healing. Several well-done studies have shown rotator cuff repairs are most vulnerable to re-tear or non-healing in the first 6 months after repair. Therefore, when considering all these factors, it would be wise to delay return to demanding activity until at least the 6-month mark. However, it is even wiser to begin to ease into full activity at the 6-month mark with a goal of full return between 6 months and 1 year postoperatively.

NEW ORLEANS — Patients with Tönnis grade 1 who underwent arthroscopic treatment of femoroacetabular impingement and labral tears had similar durable improvements at 5-year follow-up as patients with Tönnis grade 0, according to results presented here.

NEW ORLEANS — Primary arthroscopic repair of proximal avulsion-type ACL tears was associated with good midterm results, according to data presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting.

NEW ORLEANS — Chronic pain or symptoms that persisted 2 years after arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement may be due to advanced patient age, bilateral or increased articular involvement, smoking and other preoperative factors, according to data presented here at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting.

NEW ORLEANS — No significant difference was seen between patients who were prescribed NSAIDs with narcotics for breakthrough pain after arthroscopic meniscectomy and patients who were given opioids only with regard to pain control, satisfaction and total 1-week opioid use, according to a presenter here at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting.

Ultrasound-guided needle biopsy procedures are significantly more reliable for sampling synovial tissue than blind needle biopsy, and were as effective as arthroscopy when retrieving synovial tissue from large joints, researchers noted.