Search

Objective: To present the indications, technical aspects, and initial results of the first cases using Endo-Model™ implants in Brazil., Methods: A prospective study was conducted. It included nine patients submitted to a total knee arthroplasty, of which six were primary and three were revisions, using exclusively the Endo-Model™ implant. These patients were followed for an average of 12 months and evaluated with functional scores, such as the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), Knee Society Score (KSS), and visual analog pain scale (VAS)., Results: There were statistically significant improvements in all scores evaluated in every patient. Only one complication occurred postoperatively (apraxia of the peroneal nerve) and did not require surgery revision., Conclusion: The use of a rotating-hinge implant for knee arthroplasty is a new option for complex cases with severe instability in Brazil; the initial results are satisfactory.

Objective: Translation, cultural adaptation, and validation of the new version of the Knee Society Score - The 2011 KS Score - into Brazilian Portuguese and verification of its measurement properties, reproducibility, and validity. In 2012, the new version of the Knee Society Score was developed and validated. This scale comprises four separate subscales: (a) objective knee score (seven items: 100 points); (b) patient satisfaction score (five items: 40 points); (c) patient expectations score (three items: 15 points); and (d) functional activity score (19 items: 100 points)., Method: A total of 90 patients aged 55-85 years were evaluated in a clinical cross-sectional study. The pre-operative translated version was applied to patients with TKA referral, and the post-operative translated version was applied to patients who underwent TKA. Each patient answered the same questionnaire twice and was evaluated by two experts in orthopedic knee surgery. Evaluations were performed pre-operatively and three, six, or 12 months post-operatively. The reliability of the questionnaire was evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) between the two applications. Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha., Results: The ICC found no difference between the means of the pre-operative, three-month, and six-month post-operative evaluations between sub-scale items., Conclusion: The Brazilian Portuguese version of The 2011 KS Score is a valid and reliable instrument for objective and subjective evaluation of the functionality of Brazilian patients who undergo TKA and revision TKA.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of complete absence of muscle contractions on normal human cartilage in the presence of joint motion., Methods: Patients with complete acute spinal cord injuries were enrolled. All patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on both knees as soon as their medical condition was stable and at six months after the primary lesion. All patients received rehabilitation treatment that included lower-limb passive motion exercises twice a day. The MRIs were analyzed by two radiologists with expertise in musculoskeletal disorders. A region of interest was established at the patellar facets and trochlea, and T2 relaxation times were calculated. The area under the cartilage T2 relaxation time curve was calculated and standardized., Results: Fourteen patients with complete spinal cord injuries were enrolled, but only eight patients agreed to participate in the study and signed the informed consent statement. Two patients could not undergo knee MRI due to their clinical conditions. Initial knee MRIs were performed on six patients. After six months, only two patients underwent the second bilateral knee MRI. Both patients were neurologically classified as Frankel A. An increase in T2 values on the six-month MRI was observed for both knees, especially in the patellofemoral joint., Conclusion: The absence of muscle contractions seems to be deleterious to normal human knee cartilage even in the presence of a normal range of motion. Further studies with a larger number of patients, despite their high logistical complexity, must be performed to confirm this hypothesis.

Objective: To describe a surgical technique for anatomical reconstruction of the medial patellofemoral ligament using the quadriceps tendon, combined with reconstruction of the medial patellotibial ligament using the patellar tendon; and to present the initial results from a case series., Method: The proposed technique was used on a series of cases of patients with diagnoses of patellofemoral instability and indications for surgical treatment, who were attended by the Knee Group of HC-IOT, University of São Paulo. The following were evaluated before and after the operation: range of motion (ROM), apprehension test, lateral translation test, patellar inclination test, inverted J sign, subluxation upon extension, pain from compression of the patella and pain from contraction of the quadriceps. After the operation, the patients were asked whether any new episode of dislocation had occurred, what their degree of satisfaction with the surgery was (on a scale from 0 to 10) and whether they would be prepared to go through this operation again., Results: Seven knees were operated, in seven patients, with a mean follow-up of 5.46 months (±2.07). Four patients who presented apprehension before the operation did not show this after the operation. The lateral translation test became normal for all the patients, while the patellar inclination test remained positive for two patients. The patients with an inverted J sign continued to be positive for this sign. Five patients were positive for subluxation upon extension before the operation, but all patients were negative for this after the operation. None of the patients presented any new episode of dislocation of the patella. All of them stated that they were satisfied: five gave a satisfaction score of 9 and two, a score of 10. All of them said that they would undergo the operation again. Only one patient presented a postoperative complication: dehiscence of the wound., Conclusion: Reconstruction of the medial patellofemoral ligament using the quadriceps tendon, combined with reconstruction of the medial patellotibial ligament using the patellar tendon, was technically safe and presented good objective and subjective clinical results in this case series with a short follow-up.

Clinical treatment for osteoarthritis (OA) is very important and is based on patient's self care and guided by the physician. Drug therapy is additional to losing weight, improving muscular strength, proprioception, flexibility and range of motion. Between the available drugs for osteoarthritis' treatment, some are basically analgesics and do not interfere on disease's progression; some are anti-inflammatory with good analgesic power but with side effects that compromise their prolonged usage; and the structure modifying drugs that slow down the progression of OA. The medications are presented in topic, oral, intra-muscular, intra-venous and intra-articular forms. The hyaluronic acid has various presentations with good analgesic effect and some evidence of structure modifying property. There is IA evidence level for the use of diacerhein and of glucosamine to slow down the disease. Still, more technology for diagnosis and therapy control of OA is necessary to define the efficacy of other drugs.

Randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) are considered to be the gold standard for evidence-based medicine nowadays, and are important for directing medical practice through consistent scientific observations. Steps such as patient selection, randomization and blinding are fundamental for conducting a RCT, but some additional difficulties are presented in trials that involve surgical procedures, as is common in orthopedics. The aim of this article was to highlight and discuss some difficulties and possible limitations on RCTs within the field of surgery.

Objective: To correlate parameters of implants with incidence of pain., Methods: 32 knees (31 patients) operated on between 2006 to 2008 in a serie of cases of TKA revision surgery were monitored for evidence of pain at the tip of the stem. In all we used uncemented stem Scorpio TS Total Knee ® Revision System (Stryker ®). Criteria assessed: pain in the leg or thigh without other causes, diameter and length of the nail; position of the rod in the medullary canal, intramedullary canal diameter., Results: Mean age was 66.7 years and mean follow-up was 2.6 years.21,87% of patients reported leg pain, 9.37% thigh pain. The group of pacients with leg pain presented with shaft diameter 14.7 mm, length 80 mm in 71.42% and 155 mm in 28,58%, stem diameter/ intramedullary canal diameter average relation of 0,76, 42.8% had stem malalignment. The group without leg pain presented with shaft diameter 15.2 mm, length 80 mm in 68% and 155 mm in 32%, diameters average relation of 0.80, 20.8% had stem malalignment. The group with thigh pain presented with shaft diameter 18.3 mm, length 80 mm in 66.67% and 155 mm in 33,33%,diameters average relation of 0.75, 0% had stem malalignment The group without thigh pain presented with shaft diameter 16.56 mm, length 80 mm in 70.37% and 155 mm in 29,63%, diameters average relation of 0.79, 14,2% had stem malalignment., Conclusion: There was no association between the assessed criteria and pain in the tip of the stem.

Objective: To evaluate the value of preoperative radiographic evaluations for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) revision., Methods: Thirty-one knees that were operated between 2006 and 2008, in a consecutive series of cases of TKA revision surgery were analyzed retrospectively. The following criteria were evaluated: number of wedges or structured bone grafts used for filling the bone defects; locations of the wedges and bone grafts used; and mean thickness of the polyethylene used. The AORI classification was previously established based on preoperative radiographs, using preestablished criteria. After the analysis, the knees were divided into four groups (I, IIA, IIB and III)., Results: The mean number of wedges or grafts used in each knee progressively increased among the groups (group I: 1.33; group IIA: 2; group IIB: 4.33; and group III: 4.83) (P = 0.0012). The commonest locations were medial in the tibia and posteromedial in the femur. There were no statistically significant differences in the thickness of the polyethylene used., Conclusion: The AORI classification for bone defects in the knee, based on preoperative radiographs, showed a correlation with increasing need to use wedges and/or structured grafts in TKA revisions. However, up to 46% of the knees in groups I and IIA presented bone defects of up to 5 mm that were not diagnosed by means of preoperative radiographs.

Objective: To present a biomechanical device for evaluating medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction and its isometricity., Methods: An accessible biomechanical method that allowed application of physiological and non-physiological forces to the knee using a mechanical arm and application of weights and counterweights was developed, so as to enable many different evaluations and have a very accurate measurement system for distances between different structures, for analysis on experiments. This article describes the assembly of this system, and suggests some practical applications. Six cadaver knees were studied. The knees were prepared in a testing machine developed at the Biomechanics Laboratory of IOT-HCFMUSP, which allowed dynamic evaluation of patellar behavior, with quantification of patellar lateralization between 0° and 120°. The differences between the distances found with and without load applied to the patella were grouped according to the graft fixation angle (0°, 30°, 60° or 90°) and knee position (intact, damaged or reconstructed)., Results: There was a tendency for smaller lateral displacement to occur at fixation angles greater than 30 degrees of flexion, especially between the angles of 45° and 60° degrees of flexion, after the reconstruction. For the other angles, there was no statistical significance., Conclusion: The method developed is a useful tool for studies on the patellofemoral joint and the MPFL, and has a very accurate measurement system for distances between different structures. It can be used in institutions with fewer resources available.

Objectives: To evaluate the initial functional results and early complication rate of ceramic-ceramic total hip replacements among patients living with HIV who presented osteonecrosis of the femoral head., Method: Twelve HIV-positive patients with a diagnosis of osteonecrosis of the incongruent femoral head were evaluated using clinical and laboratory criteria and the WOMAC functional scale before and after treatment with joint replacement., Results: We observed that 83.3% of the subjects were taking protease inhibitors, 75% had dyslipidemia and 66.6% had lipodystrophy syndrome. The improvement over the evolution of the WOMAC score was statistically significant at six and twelve months after the operation, in comparison with the preoperative score. We did not observe complications secondary to this procedure., Conclusion: Total hip arthroplasty with a ceramic-ceramic implant for treating avascular necrosis of the hip is an appropriate surgical option for this portion of the population. It provides a significant initial functional improvement and a low early complication rate.

Objective: To analyze occurrences of trochlear dysplasia in patients with Down syndrome in the presence and absence of femoropatellar instability., Methods: Eleven knees with stable patellae and thirteen with unstable patellae in patients with Down syndrome were compared. Radiographs were produced to evaluate patellar height, trochlear angle and femoropatellar congruence angle., Results: The prevalence ratio for a high patella between the unstable and the stable patients was 1.01 using the Insall-Salvati index and 0.68 using the Caton-Deschamps index. For an abnormal congruence angle, the prevalence ratio was 2.04. An increased congruence angle was only found in four cases, all presenting instability., Conclusions: Trochlear dysplasia was only found in cases of instability. The trochlear groove angle and the femoropatellar congruence angle correlated with the presence of patellar instability.

Objective: Describe the knee anterolateral ligament (ALL) and establish its anatomical marks of origin and insertion., Methods: Dissection of the anterolateral aspect of the knee was performed in six cadavers. After isolation of the ALL, its lenght, width and thickness were measured as its places of origin and insertion. The ALL origin was documented in relation to the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) origin and the insertion was documented in relation to the Gerdy tubercle, fibullar head and lateral meniscus. After the first two dissections, the ligament was removed and sent to histologycal analysis., Results: The ALL was clearly identified in all knees. Its origin in the lateral epycondile was on average 0.5 mm distal and 2.5 mm anterior to the LCL. In the tibia, two insertions were observed, one in the lateral meniscus and another in the proximal tibia, about 4.5 mm distal to the articular cartilage, between the Gerdy tubercle and the fibullar head. The average measures obtained were: 35.1 mm lenght, 6.8 mm width and 2.6 mm thickness. In the ligament histological analysis, dense connective tissue was observed., Conclusion: The ALL is a constant structure in the knee anterolateral region. Its origin is anterior and distal to the LCL origin. In the tibia, it has two insertions, one in the lateral meniscus and another in the proximal tibia between the Gerdy tubercle and the fibullar head.

Objective: Profile analysis of articles from scientific journals is rare in our country. The aim of this study was to perform an analysis of publications of the Revista Brasileira de Ortopedia (RBO), to specify the designs of the studies and their level of evidence., Methods: All articles published in RBO from January 2006 to December 2010 were classified according to the design of the study. The clinical studies were further stratified according to the level of evidence, in agreement with the norm of the journal. The studies classified as randomized and controlled clinical trials (RCTs) had their quality assessed by the system proposed by Jadad., Results: I n this period, there were 376 articles published in RBO. Clinical studies represented most of the papers, with 60.64% of the total. Case series represented 61.4% of the clinical studies. Thirteen RCTs were published, accounting for 3.46% of the total, and 5.7% of the clinical studies. The analysis of the quality of the RCTs showed that 5 (38.46%) were considered high quality, while 8 (61.54%) were of low quality. Among the studies in which the level of evidence does not apply (non-clinical), non-systematic reviews (46 articles) and basic research (40 articles) have prevailed, representing 12.23% and 10.64% respectively of the total., Conclusions: Case series were the most prevalent (37.23%) studies published in RBO between 2006 and 2010, while RCTs accounted for 3.46% of the articles. The majority of RCTs (61.54%) were considered low quality, and only 1.32% of the clinical studies were classified as level I evidence.