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Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are common to athletes and non-athletes alike. Whereas the literature has historically supported bone–patellar tendon–bone as the gold standard for active patients who elect to undergo ACL reconstruction, other studies have suggested that soft-tissue grafts do not increase the risk of rerupture. Because graft diameter has a direct effect on revision rates, we share a technique for all-inside ACL reconstruction using quadrupled semitendinosus and gracilis autograft that allows for a predictable, robust graft. Reproducible steps of graft harvesting, tunnel preparation, graft passage, and fixation are shared to achieve a robust anatomic reconstruction.

Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to identify potential differences using validated clinical outcome instruments between patients with and without diabetes mellitus (DM) after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (RCR). Methods: Six-hundred eighty-four patients (32 with and 652 without DM) who underwent arthroscopic RCR were prospectively followed using the visual analog pain scale, Simple Shoulder Test, Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score, and Veterans RAND 12-item Health Survey (mental and physical component scores) preoperatively and at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively. Results: Patients with DM experienced significantly more pain (P = .0172) and had lower Simple Shoulder Test (P = .0458) and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (P = .0200) scores than patients without DM 6 months after surgery. Although differences between groups are seen at other postoperative time points, none are statistically significant.They also exhibited lower self-rated mental health status at 12 months (P = .0034) and 24 months (P = .0077), as well as lower self-rated physical health status at 12 months (P = .0223) and 24 months (P = .0077). Changes in scores from preoperatively to postoperatively were not different for patients with DM vs. without DM. Conclusion: Patients with DM experience significantly more pain, exhibit significantly poorer shoulder function, and report persistently diminished mental and physical health status compared with their counterparts without DM after undergoing arthroscopic RCR. Although these differences did not reach the minimal clinically important difference, orthopedic surgeons should be cognizant of DM as an outcome-modifying variable when selecting, counseling, and treating patients with rotator cuff tears. Glycemic control should be scrutinized and optimized during the perioperative medical evaluation and ultimately factored into the surgical risk profile and prognosis.

Background and Hypothesis: Smoking is a well-established risk factor for tendon healing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the differences in patient-reported outcome measures between smokers and nonsmokers who have undergone arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. It was hypothesized that smokers would have worse self-reported outcomes at 1 and 2 years postoperatively. Methods: A total of 560 consecutive patients who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair were divided into 2 groups: group I (smokers) n = 25 and group II (nonsmokers) n = 535. All participants were administered preoperative and postoperative surveys consisting of the following outcome-measuring tools: (i) visual analog scale, (ii) Veterans Rand 12-Item Health Survey, (iii) American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons shoulder score, (iv) standard preoperative form consisting of 4 questions regarding their expectations of recovery, (v) Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation shoulder score, and (vi) Simple Shoulder Test. Results: At 1 and 2 years postoperative, nonsmokers reported statistically significant differences in Veterans Rand 12-Item Health Survey mental scores (56.2 vs. 51.9, P = .0162 and 56.3 vs. 49.5, P = .0004, respectively). American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Shoulder scores showed no differences until the 2-year mark, at which time nonsmokers reported higher scores than smokers (87.9 vs. 79.0, P = .0212). Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation scores also remained similar up until 2-year follow-up, at which time nonsmokers reported statistically significant improvement (80.0 vs. 68.5, P = .0339). Nonsmokers reported higher Simple Shoulder Test scores at baseline and at 2-year follow-up (43.3 vs. 37.0, P = .0417 and 83.7 vs. 68.1, P = .0046, respectively). Conclusion: At 2 years postoperatively, nonsmokers had significantly higher patient-reported outcome measure scores than smokers. In elective surgery, smoking status should be considered as a risk factor for poorer patient-reported outcomes after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. However, smokers continue to report a clinical benefit at 2 years postoperatively.

Participation of female athletes in sports at all levels continues to grow exponentially, as well as the injuries they experience during play. A literature review does outline return to sport guidelines, yet few studies address the potential need for differences between male and female athletes. This commentary is a review of the literature that outlines various sports that involve both male and female overhead athletes and potential differences in upper-extremity injuries and strengths and weaknesses between sexes. This information proposes the potential need to customize return-to-sport guidelines and screens that include recommendations for overhead female athletes within their specific sport, following both injury as well as surgical intervention. Level of Evidence: V.

Purpose: To evaluate patient use of opioids following arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, including the number of days and number of pills when used in combination with non-opioid medications and to determine whether patients were satisfied with their pain management and if variables such as age, sex, body mass index, duration of symptoms, anticipation of postoperative pain, preoperative opioid consumption, size of the rotator cuff tear, or anxiety/depression affected pain management. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study of 117 prospectively enrolled patients older than the age of 18 years undergoing primary arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. All patients completed preoperative and 2-week postoperative questionnaires to assess their pain and satisfaction with pain management. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the association of patient characteristics with satisfaction of pain control and amount/duration of opioids postoperatively. Results: Patients required a median of 18 opioid pain pills or 135 morphine milligram equivalents (interquartiles, 6-35 pills) postoperatively over 6.9 ± 5.1 days. In total, 65% of patients took opioid pain medications for 7 days or fewer. On postoperative day 2, patients reported a VAS pain score of 6.6 ± 2.8 and at the 2-week postoperative visit, mean visual analog scale pain score was 3.5 ± 2.5. Differences in age, sex, body mass index, duration of symptoms, anticipation of postoperative pain, preoperative 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire, 2-item Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire, current opioid use, and surgical characteristics had no effect on, or association with, satisfaction with pain management postoperatively. Conclusions: Following arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, patients can achieve satisfactory pain control using a multimodal approach with a median of 18 opioid pills (range 6-35 pills) over 6.9 ± 5.1 days when used in combination with non-opioid pain medications. Overall, 74.4% of patients were satisfied with their postoperative pain management. Level of Evidence: Level II; Prospective cohort study.

Purpose: To determine whether active smokers have different patient-reported outcomes relative to nonsmokers for pain, function, and overall health at baseline and 1 or 2 years after an arthroscopic partial meniscectomy. Methods: Patients who underwent arthroscopic partial meniscectomy were identified. Demographic data, including smoking status and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), were prospectively collected preoperatively and 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years postoperatively. Statistical analysis was performed using the mixed-effects model to compare PROMs preoperatively and 1 or 2 years postoperatively between nonsmokers and active smokers. Results: 509 knees undergoing arthroscopic partial meniscectomy were divided into 2 cohorts: group I, nonsmokers (n = 470) and group II, active smokers (n = 39). There were statistically significant baseline differences in PROMs for nonsmokers versus smokers: visual analog scale (VAS), 5.0 ± 0.4 versus 6.3 ± 0.7, respectively (P = .001); Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) Pain scale, 50.3 ± 3.2 versus 42.5± 5.5 (P = .005); KOOS Symptoms scale, 50.0 ± 3.2 versus 43.6 ± 5.4 (P = .019); and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) Pain scale, 57.5 ± 3.4 versus 48.2 ± 6.1 (P = .003). There were also statistically significant differences in nonsmokers versus smokers regarding knee function at baseline shown by the KOOS Activites of Daily Living (ADL) scale: (61.1 ± 3.3 versus 53.5 ± 6.1; P = .015). Baseline mental health, as assessed by the Veterans Rand 12-Item Health Survey (VR-12) Mental Health questionnaire, was also statistically different between nonsmokers (55.4 ± 0.8) and smokers (51.5 ± 3.3; P = .020). Importantly, PROMs for pain and function were lower at all time points for smokers. Conclusion: Patients who were active smokers at the time of partial meniscectomy had significantly worse baseline and postoperative PROMs compared with nonsmokers. Changes from baseline for smokers and nonsmokers were relatively consistent between groups 1 and 2 years postoperatively. Smokers will improve a relatively similar amount as nonsmokers after partial meniscectomy, but their overall PROM scores are lower. Level of Evidence: III, retrospective comparative study.

Several studies have identified graft diameter as a risk factor for failure following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of graft diameter on patient reported outcome measures (PROMS) following ACLR. We performed a retrospective review of prospectively collected data using a global surgical registry. 153 of 287 patients (53.3%) had complete data for each timepoint. Effect of graft diameter, graft type, femoral tunnel drilling technique, patient age, sex, and body mass index were evaluated. At 1-year post-operatively, a 1-mm increase in graft diameter was found to correlate with a 5.7-point increase in the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) activity of daily living score (p = 0.01), a 10.3-point increase in the sport score (p=0.003), and a 9.8-point increase in the quality of life score (p=0.013). At 2-years post-operatively, a 1-mm increase in graft size was found to be marginally correlated with KOOS symptoms and sport scores. Patients undergoing hamstring autograft ACLR, increasing graft diameter can result in improved PROMS, specifically improved KOOS subscale scores at 1 and 2-years post-operative.

Unilateral anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear is a common injury seen by sports medicine orthopedic surgeons. However, a bilateral simultaneous ACL injury is extremely rare and has been reported only three times in the literature. We present a young female skier with simultaneous bilateral ACL tears that were managed with staged ACL reconstruction. We then conducted a nationwide survey (United States) to determine the prevalence of simultaneous bilateral ACL tear and preferred management strategies by sports medicine orthopedic surgeons. Sports medicine fellowship directors were contacted and asked to send an 8-item survey to colleagues (sports medicine fellowship trained surgeons) asking about overall number of ACL reconstructions performed, number of bilateral simultaneous ACL injuries seen and optimal management strategies of such an injury. Out of 43 responses, only 22 (51.2%) surgeons had seen a bilateral simultaneous ACL injury. Of these, 16 (76.2%) preferred staged reconstruction. Graft choice was mixed between autograft and allograft, but a large majority preferred either patellar tendon autograft (58%) or hamstring autograft (41%) were the most common choice. Staged reconstruction is the treatment of choice by surgeons surveyed in our study.

Objective The primary goal of this study is to evaluate the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and muscle atrophy in individuals with rotator cuff tears.Methods This study consists of patients with rotator cuff tears identified by MRI from two independent cohorts, the Rotator Cuff Outcomes Workgroup (ROW) and the Multicenter Orthopaedic Outcomes Network (MOON). Presence of atrophy (yes/no) and severity of atrophy (as an ordinal variable) were assessed on MRI by expert physicians. We used multivariable regression models to evaluate the relationship between BMI and muscle atrophy while adjusting for age and sex in each study, conducted sensitivity analyses for full-thickness tear and combined results using inverse variance-weighted meta-analysis.Results A total of 539 patients (MOON=395, ROW=144) from the combined cohorts had MRI data available on muscle atrophy. Among these patients, 246 (46%) had atrophy of at least one of the muscles of the rotator cuff and 282 (52%) had full-thickness tears. In meta-analysis across both cohorts, each 5 kg/m2 increase in BMI was associated with a 21% (aOR=1.21, 95% CI=1.02, 1.43) increased odds of having muscle atrophy among individuals with any tear size, and 36% (aOR=1.36, 95% CI=1.01–1.81) increased odds among individuals with full-thickness tear.Conclusions Higher BMI was associated with significantly higher odds of muscle atrophy in patiens with rotator cuff tears. More study is needed to unders1tand why and how this relationship exists, as well as whether interventions to reduce BMI may help improve outcomes for these patients.Level of Evidence III.

Objectives Risk factors for anterior shoulder dislocation include young age, contact activities and male sex. The influence of sex on patient-reported outcomes of arthroscopic Bankart repair (ABR) is unclear, with few studies reporting potential differences. This study’s purpose was to compare patient-reported outcomes of males and females following ABR.Methods Prospectively collected data was analysed for 281 patients (males: 206, females: 75) after ABR with preoperative, 1-year and 2-year follow-up responses. The Wilcoxon signed-rank and χ2 tests, preoperative, 1 year and 2 year follow-up results were examined to determine differences of scores in males versus females.Results No statistically significant sex differences were observed in Simple Shoulder Test (SST), American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) or Single Assessment Numerical Evaluation (SANE) Scores at 1-year or 2-year follow-up. Females had lower Veterans RAND 12-item health survey (VR-12) mental health subscores at 2-year follow-up (females: 52.3±9.0, males: 55.8±7.6, p=0.0016). Females were more likely to report that treatment had ‘exceeded expectations’ at 2-year follow-up regarding motion, strength, function and normal sports activities.Conclusion Results of study demonstrate that ABR has similar outcomes for both males and females. There were no statistically significant sex-related differences in SST, ASES, VAS or SANE scores following ABR. VR-12 mental health subscores showed a minimal difference at 2-year follow-up, with lower scores in females.Level of evidence Retrospective cohort study; level II.