Shoulder/Elbow News

Medacta International announced clearance from the FDA for its Short Humeral Diaphysis, which is used with the Medacta Shoulder System.

Patients with chronic lateral epicondylar tendinopathy that had been resistant to medical treatment experienced effective and well-tolerated treatment when Botulinum toxin A was injected into the extensor carpi radialis brevis muscle, according to results published in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

The incidence of surgical site infection after orthopaedic procedures continues to increase and have a potential affect on the success of procedures orthopaedic surgeons perform and possibly threaten our profession, according to Javad Parvizi, MD, FRCS.

Regardless of anchor site, results published in Orthopedics showed a low rate of anchor hole widening and excellent ossification among patients who underwent arthroscopic Bankart repair with cylindrical biocomposite anchors made of 70% poly-L-lactide-co-glycolide acid and 30% beta-tricalcium phosphate.

It has been 5 years since the first International Consensus Meeting on Periprosthetic Joint Infection was held. That meeting, held in Philadelphia, was lauded as a success and was attended by 400 delegates from 52 countries. The proceedings of the meeting were published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Arthroplasty and in a book translated into 18 languages that came out after the meeting. More than 30,000 copies of the book were distributed worldwide. The definition of periprosthetic joint infection proposed by the International Consensus Meeting group was adopted by the CDC.

The patient is a 35-year-old right-hand dominant woman with 2 years of chronic right shoulder pain. She previously sustained a cerebral hemorrhage related to postpartum hypertension, which resulted in right-sided hemiparesis 2 years prior to presentation. At baseline, she had right upper extremity paresis that was worse than her right lower extremity paresis. She was able to walk short distances around the house, but her shoulder pain impaired her ability to take care of her three children. Her complaints were centered around shoulder pain that occurred while trying to use her arm. She currently uses her right hand as a helping hand to post objects that she then lifts with her left hand, but she cannot grasp or lift independently with the right upper extremity.

As perioperative hemoglobin A1c levels increased, risks for wound complications and deep infection increased in patients with diabetes who underwent shoulder arthroplasty, according to a recently published study in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Compared with the Spaso technique, investigators found the Boss-Holzach Matter self-reduction technique yielded less pain in patients with anterior shoulder dislocations.

From 2000 to 2016, researchers found a steady decrease in reimbursement for procedures in all orthopedic subspecialties, except for removal of an orthopedic implant. They also found adult reconstruction had the greatest rate of decrease, according to results published in Orthopedics.

Although subcritical bone loss of greater than 13.5% in patients with posterior instability resulted in lower rates of return to military duty, results published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine showed patient-reported outcomes, complications and reoperation rate were not affected by the level of bone loss.