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Two of the more common potential complications after arthroplasty are venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolus (PE), and excess bleeding. Appropriate chemoprophylaxis choices are essential to prevent some of these adverse events and from exacerbating others. Risk stratification to prescribe safe and effective medications in the prevention of postoperative VTE has shown benefit in this regard. The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Syosset Hospital/Northwell Health, which performs over 1200 arthroplasties annually, has validated and is using the 2013 version of the Caprini Risk Assessment Model (RAM) to stratify each patient for risk of postoperative VTE. This tool results in a culling of information, past and present, personal and familial, that provides a truly thorough evaluation of the patient's risk for postoperative VTE. The Caprini score then guides the medication choices for thromboprophylaxis. The Caprini score is only valuable if the data is properly collected, and we have learned numerous lessons after applying it for 18 months. Risk stratification requires practice and experience to achieve expertise in perioperative patient evaluation. Having access to pertinent patient information, while gaining proficiency in completing the Caprini RAM, is vital to its efficacy. Ongoing, real time analyses of patient outcomes, with subsequent change in process, is key to improving patient care.

In this article, we report on the differences in the healing biology of biceps tenodesis performed on either bone or soft tissue in a rat model. This work provides further insight into what may be the optimal strategy for managing biceps-labrum complex disease., Competing Interests: Authors’ Disclosure Statement: The authors report no actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to this article.

We conducted a retrospective cohort study (N = 477) to determine if use of intravenous tranexamic acid (TXA) improves early ambulation and reduces blood loss after total knee arthroplasty and anterior and posterior total hip arthroplasty. Mean (SD) patient age was 66.5 (10.1) years. For all 3 procedures, early ambulation was significantly better in the TXA group than in the no-TXA group at postoperative days 1 and 2, and, over time, reductions in hemoglobin and hematocrit were statistically significantly lower in the TXA group than in the no-TXA group. TXA groups required fewer postoperative transfusions. Incidence of postoperative venous thromboembolism was similar between all groups. TXA use improves early ambulation after total joint arthroplasty., Competing Interests: Authors’ Disclosure Statement: The authors report no actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to this article.

Patellofemoral arthritis is generally regarded as a contraindication to unicompartmental knee arthroplasty. A retrospective review of 52 patients (60 knees) who underwent this operation together with nonresurfacing excisional patelloplasty was carried out. The patellar facets were resected through subchondral bone retaining the triangular shape of the bone. There were 90% good and excellent results at an average follow-up of 6 years with no patellofemoral pain, despite marked to moderate patellofemoral crepitus in 98%. Patellofemoral arthroplasty can extend the indications for unicompartmental knee arthroplasty, providing an alternative to total knee replacement.

A prospective study was made of 101 patients who underwent transpedicular spinal instrumentation and fusion of the lumbar spine. All were reviewed by an independent observer. The objectives were to determine the causes of clinical failure and to recommend preventive measures. Forty-two primary and 59 revision operations were performed. The average age was 46 years and follow up 4 years. The variable screw placement and Cotrel-Dubousset systems were used. Posterior lumbar interbody fusion was carried out in 24 patients. The outcome was satisfactory after primary operations in 67% and after revisions in 46%. Nerve root injuries due to screw placement occurred in 4% (2% permanent and 2% transient). Instrumentation-induced foraminal stenosis developed in 2%. Proper surgical technique can avoid these complications. Predictive factors for failure are: abnormal psychology, symptomatic epidural fibrosis, inadequate decompression of lateral stenosis, surgical complications and the use of allografts.

Study Design: This study reports the 7-year follow-up of an L5 vertebral hemangioendothelioma treated with tumor excision and allograft reconstruction stabilized with transpedicular fixation., Objectives: A review of vertebral hemangioendotheliomas is provided to outline the rationale for surgical excision in such cases., Summary of Background Data: Radiation therapy has been the mainstay of therapy in surgically inaccessible lesions of the spine. The long-term follow-up of radical spinal tumor excision and reconstruction in previously surgically inaccessible areas has not been reported for vertebral hemangioendothelioma., Methods: After embolizations, anterior L5 corpectomy and allograft femoral reconstruction was performed. Second-stage (same day) posterior element excision was followed by VSP stabilization of L4-S1 with artificial pedicles anchored into the femoral allograft at L5. Radiation therapy followed., Results: Satisfactory long-term (7-year) segmental reconstruction using allograft and VSP was realized, even in the face of postoperative radiation therapy., Conclusion: Contemporary spinal reconstructive techniques have been developed that continue to limit the number of surgically inaccessible tumors in the spine. The present report shows these techniques to be durable and apparently effective in vertebral hemangioendothelioma.

Study Design: A retrospective case study was performed on the single-stage posterior transvertebral closing-wedge osteotomy for treatment of adult thoracolumbar kyphosis., Summary of Background Data: Forty-one consecutive cases in 38 patients available for follow-up, averaging 33 months (range 4-87 months), are included. All patients had severe pain and/or deformity; 51% of cases had previous fractures, and 49% had postlaminectomy failed back syndromes with kyphosis. A preoperative neurologic deficit was present in 34% of the cases including two with cauda equina syndrome., Methods: Patient examination and interviews, subjective questionnaire, chart reviews, and radiographic measurements were performed independently. Complications, risks, benefits, results, and biomechanical considerations were evaluated and discussed as compared with other techniques., Results: All cases had solid union at follow-up; 93% maintained correction averaging 35 degrees with three requiring revision for failure. Postoperatively, 19.5% of the cases had new neurologic deficits with five (12.2%) temporary or minor and three (7.3%) major, including one with unimproved paraplegia at follow-up. Eight of the 14 preoperative neurologic deficit cases improved postoperatively; 26 additional surgeries were performed on 18 patients most commonly for pain (x 11) and additional trauma (x 4). The subjective questionnaire results indicated significant patient satisfaction, with 76% stating they would repeat the surgery and 90% recommending it to another., Conclusion: This technically demanding high-risk procedure provides an effective and mechanically superior correction for acute angle thoracolumbar kyphosis in selected adult patients, with high subjective satisfaction.

Fusion indications in adult degenerative disk disease of the lumbosacral spine include isolated disk resorption, primary and secondary instability, recurrent disk herniation, and pseudarthrosis. Common to these indications are variable proportions of biomechanical insufficiency of the motion segment, instability, deformity, and spinal stenosis. Apart from favorable psychosocial and work related variables, satisfactory outcome is dependent on treatment by a combination of diskectomy, decompression, and deformity correction, in addition to fusion. Isolated intertransverse or interbody fusions show variable fusion rates that are increased by concurrent instrumentation. Persistent pseudarthrosis rates and instrumentation failures have prompted circumferential fusion techniques. Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) and segmental pedicle-based plate fixation overcome earlier problems with PLIF by allowing for wide decompression and increased exposure for disk space preparation, minimizing neural injury. Pedicle fixation restores segmental stability and minimizes graft retropulsion. Restoration of anterior column support prolongs instrumentation life, and increases fusion rates irrespective of the number of levels fused. Disk space distraction, with the use of instrumentation as a working tool, permits safer decompression of the intraforaminal zone, a common area of stenosis, and single or multilevel deformity correction to restore coronal, axial, and sagittal alignment and spinal balance. Even though the surgical technique is demanding, fusion rates up to 96% and clinical success up to 86% are achieved.

Artificial disc replacement was performed in six patients with an average age of 55 years and average follow-up of 3.4 years. Four of the six patients had juxtafusion degeneration, one had multilevel disc degeneration, and one patient had isolated disc resorption. The Acroflex disc (Acromed Corporation, Cleveland, OH), which was used in the replacement, is composed of a rubber core vulcanized to two titanium end plates. The latter have superior posts to provide for initial mechanical fixation and porous in-growth surfaces for long-term fixation. Satisfactory results occurred in four of six patients. Poor results occurred in the presence of deformity that resulted in prosthetic failure and isolated disc resorption. There was an average 8 degrees angular and 2.3-mm translational movement and satisfactory in-growth at all interfaces. Design objectives of endurance, biocompatibility, geometry, kinematics, constraint, dynamics, stability, and fail-safe were met; however, this study is preliminary in nature.

Chemical precipitation of copper by hydrogen sulphide at three values of pH (3.0; 5.0; 7.0) did not result in complete elimination of the metal from a solution. If sulphate reducing bacteria and a source of organic substance, for instance, disintegrated reed, are introduced into the medium, the microorganisms begin to grow, the redox potential decreases, hydrogen sulphide is formed, and copper is completely eliminated from a solution within 10--15 days in model experiments.

Heterotrophic microorganisms can grow in the presence of toxic components contained in industrial drainage of non-ferrous metal industry. The content of microorganisms correlates with the concentration of organic substances of plant origin in drainage waters. In the course of mineralization, heavy metal ions are immobilized and precipitated as stable metal-organic complexes with microbial metabolites. The rate of metal precipitation increases in the presence of aerobically decomposed plant material. The results obtained can be employed for purification of drainage waters from metal ions.