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Background: Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) can lead to pain and loss of function of the hip joint, which places a great burden on patients and society. Surgery is the main treatment for osteonecrosis of the femoral head, and quadratus femoris muscle pedicle bone grafting has a definite therapeutic effect as one method of surgery for the treatment of ONFH. However, the posterior superior retinacular artery is often injured during quadratus femoris muscle pedicle bone graft surgery. There is evidence that this artery is extremely important to the femoral head, as injury to this artery will seriously affect the blood supply of the femoral head. Therefore, this situation restricts the clinical application of quadratus femoris muscle pedicle bone grafts. We aimed to explore a new surgical method of quadratus femoris muscle pedicle bone grafting that can preserve the integrity of the posterior superior retinacular artery., Methods: We modified the traditional quadratus femoris muscle pedicle bone graft and preserved the integrity of the posterior superior retinacular artery. To explore the safety and feasibility of the operation, we simulated the operation on 6 fresh frozen cadavers (12 hips) and measured the related data. We also tried this modified surgical method in the clinic and collected detailed data from the patients., Results: By simulating the modified quadratus femoris muscle pedicle bone graft on the hip joints of fresh frozen cadavers, we found that the posterior superior retinacular artery existed in all cadaver specimens and that the sources may be different (MFCA or IGA). In the modified operation, the joint capsule did not need to be cut during the operation; therefore, the integrity of the posterior superior retinacular artery was preserved. The quadratus femoris muscle was exposed via the posterior approach of the hip joint, and then the quadratus femoris muscle pedicle bone flap was chiseled. After the pedicle of the quadratus femoris muscle was loosened properly, the migration distance of the quadratus femoris muscle pedicle bone flap reached 5.89 ± 0.45 (χ ± s) cm. The bone flap was trimmed properly and placed on one side. Next, we drilled a bone tunnel from the external intertrochanteric aspect of the capsule of the hip joint, and the bone tunnel broke through the sclerosing zone and proceeded straight to the necrotic area of the femoral head. Next, the necrotic bone was removed with a ring saw and arc bone knife, autogenous bone or allogeneic bone was filled into the bone groove according to the situation, and the cancellous bone in the bone groove was tamped by percussion. Then, the bone flap was inserted into the bone groove, and appropriate pressurization was performed. The depth of the bone groove was determined by the location of ONFH. We found that the furthest distance between the bone groove and the femoral head was 4.76 ± 0.07 (χ ± s) cm and that the length of the bone flap was (4.91 ± 0.23) (χ ± s) cm. This means that when the depth of the bone groove reached the area of ONFH, the quadratus femoris muscle pedicle bone flap had a sufficient length and migration distance to be embedded in the area of ONFH and firmly fixed, and the quadratus femoris did not have much tension. The closest distance between the posterior superior retinacular artery and the bone groove was (1.11 ± 0.96) (χ ± s) cm. When the bone groove was created in this area, the edge of the bone groove had a safe distance of at least 1 cm from the posterior superior retinacular artery of the femoral head. We attempted to implement this modified operation clinically. During the procedure, the quadratus femoris muscle pedicle bone flap was embedded into the drilled bone groove and fixed with a magnesium nail. There was no sliding of the bone flap after the operation, and the posterior superior retinacular artery was intact. We followed the patient for 3 months and found that the patient recovered well with no weight-bearing by the affected limb. The duration of the modified operation was shorter than that of the traditional quadratus femoris muscle pedicle bone graft, the amount of bleeding was significantly reduced, the postoperative pain was lessened, and no special discomfort was reported. Postoperative imaging examination showed that the collapse of the femoral head had been partially corrected and that the bone flap had gradually fused with the surrounding bone., Conclusions: Through this experimental study, we confirmed the feasibility of the modified method for quadratus femoris muscle pedicle bone grafting with preservation of the posterior superior retinacular artery. This modified operation not only retains the integrity of the posterior superior retinacular artery of the femoral head but also reduces the difficulty of the operation and shortens the surgical time, which is of great clinical significance., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objective: To investigate the safety and efficacy of a new biodegradable magnesium internal fixation screw for vascularized iliac bone flap grafting in treatment of osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH)., Methods: Patients with ONFH admitted between July 2020 and February 2021 were selected as the research objects, and 20 patients (20 hips) met the selection criteria and were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups ( n =10) by central random method. The iliac bone flap was fixed with a new biodegradable magnesium internal fixation screw in the trial group, and the iliac bone flap was wedged directly in the control group. There was no significant difference ( P >0.05) in gender, age, and side, type, Association Research Circulation Osseous (ARCO) stage, and disease duration of ONFH between the two groups. The operation time and intraoperative blood loss of the two groups were recorded. Laboratory tests were performed at each time point before and after operation, including white blood cell (WBC), electrolytes (K, Ca, P, Mg), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (Scr), glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), lymphocyte ratio (CD4/CD8), immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM, alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST). After operation, Harris score was used to evaluate the hip joint function. CT of the hip joint and X-ray films in anteroposterior and frog positions of the pelvis were used to review the iliac bone flap position, fusion, and screw biodegradation in the trial group., Results: The vital signs of the two groups were stable, the incisions healed by first intention, and no adverse events occurred after operation. One patient in the control group refused to return to the hospital for follow-up at 3 months after operation, and 1 patient in the trial group refused to return to the hospital for follow-up at 1 year after operation. The rest of the patients completed the follow-up at 2 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year after operation. Laboratory tests showed that there was no significant difference in WBC, electrolytes (K, Ca, P, Mg), BUN, Scr, eGFR, CD4/CD8, IgG, IgM, ALT, and AST between the two groups at each time point before and after operation ( P >0.05). The operation time and intraoperative blood loss of the trial group were significantly less than those of the control group ( P <0.05). The Harris scores of the two groups at 1 year significantly increased when compared with the values before operation and at 6 months after operation ( P <0.05). There was no significant difference in Harris score between the two groups at each time point ( P >0.05). Postoperative CT of hip joint and X-ray films of pelvis showed that the iliac bone flap reached osseous fusion with the fenestration of the head and neck junction of femoral head in the two groups at 1 year after operation, and no loosening or shedding of iliac bone flap was observed during follow-up. In the trial group, there were signs of dissolution and absorption of the new biodegradable magnesium internal fixation screws after operation, and the diameter of the screws gradually decreased ( P <0.05); no screw breakage or detachment occurred during follow-up., Conclusion: In the treatment of ONFH with vascularized iliac bone flap grafting, the new biodegradable magnesium internal fixation screws can fix the iliac bone flap firmly. Compared with the traditional iliac bone flap wedging directly, it has a shorter operation time, less intraoperative blood loss, and can obtain similar joint function.

Objective: To observe the effectiveness of digital subtraction angiography (DSA) assisted musculoskeletal flap transplantation in the treatment of osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH)., Methods: The clinical data of 15 patients with 15 hips of ONFH admitted between January 2016 and December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were male, aged 20-45 years, with an average age of 31.6 years. There were hormone type in 9 cases and alcohol type in 6 cases. The disease duration ranged from 15 days to 3 years, with an average of 8 months. The Association Research Circulation Osseous (ARCO) staging: 4 hips in stage Ⅱ, 11 hips in stage Ⅲ. The preoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) score was 6.2±0.2, and the Harris score of the hip joint was 57.3±1.3. Preoperative DSA examination of the femoral head was performed to determine the location of vascular lesions of the femoral head. According to the results of the angiography, the surgical selection of the musculoskeletal flap was guided. For the patients with both superior and inferior retinaculum vessels developed, simple core decompression was performed. For the patients with superior retinaculum vessels developed but inferior retinaculum vessels not developed, anterolateral tensor fasciae flap was used. For the patients whose superior retinaculum did not develop and the inferior retinaculum developed, posterolateral quadratus femoris flap was used. The fibular flap with anastomotic vessels was used in the patients whose superior and inferior retinaculum vessels were not developed., Results: All 15 cases of 15 hips were followed up 6-24 months, with an average of 14 months. During the follow-up, the patient's ONFH did not worsen, the femoral head did not collapse, the joint space was normal, and the hip joint fextion and extension function was acceptable. At last follow-up, the VAS score was 1.9±0.2, and the hip Harris score was 92.1±0.8, both of which were significantly improved when compared with preoperative ones ( t =14.85, P =0.00; t =23.22, P =0.00)., Conclusion: For patients with ONFH who need musculoskeletal flap transplantation, preoperative DSA of femoral head can determine the location of vascular lesions of femoral head, so as to guide the selection of musculoskeletal flap transplantation, which is of great significance for hip-conserving surgery.

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is a common disabling disease. Copper has positive effects on cells that regulate bone metabolism. However, the relationship between copper metabolism (CM) and steroid-induced ONFH (SONFH) remains unclear. The GSE123568 dataset was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus. The differentially expressed CM-related SONFH genes (DE-CMR-SONFHGs) were identified via differential analysis and weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed for the predictive accuracy of key genes. Targeting drugs and the copper death-related genes (CDRGs) relevant to key genes were investigated. The bioinformatics results were confirmed via quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT–PCR) and Western blot (WB) analysis. Two out of 106 DE-CMR-SONFHGs were identified as key genes (PNP and SLC2A1), which had diagnostic value in distinguishing SONFH from control samples and were related to various immune cell infiltrations. Eleven PMP-targeting drugs and five SLC2A1-targeting drugs were identified. The qRT–PCR, as well as WB, results confirmed the downregulation PNP and SLC2A1 and high expression of the CDRGs DLD, PDHB, and MTF1, which are closely related to these two key genes. In conclusion, PNP and SLC2A1 were identified as key genes related to SONFH and may provide insights for SONFH treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]