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Objective: To analyze characteristics of surgically managed tear drop (TD) fractures of the C2 axis associated with other injuries such as hangman's fracture and C2‐3 discoligamentous injury as well as treatment outcomes. Methods: A total of 14 patients (eight men and six women) with TD fractures of the C2, who were surgically treated at four national trauma centers of tertiary university hospitals from January 2000 to December 2017, were included in this retrospective study. The mean age of the patients was 45.5 years (ranging from 19 to 74 years). The characteristics, surgical treatment methods (anterior fusion vs posterior fusion), and results of 14 TD fractures of the C2 were analyzed retrospectively. And the clinical relevance between C2 TD fracture and hangman's fracture and C2‐3 discoligamentous injury was investigated through the co‐occurrence between injuries. The mean follow‐up time after surgery was 22.6 months (ranging from 12 to 60 months). Results: Among 14 patients with TD fracture of the C2, four patients (28.6%) had anterior TD fracture and 10 patients (71.4%) had posterior TD fracture. All 10 posterior TD fracture patients had anterior C2‐3 displacement. While two of four anterior TD fracture patients had posterior C2‐3 displacement, the remaining two did not. All 14 patients of TD fracture had at least two or more other associated C2 injuries as well as C2‐3 discoligamentous injuries. About 92.9% (13/14) of the patients had typical or atypical hangman's fracture; 100% (10/10) of the posterior TD fracture patients had hangman's fracture, but 75% (3/4) of the anterior TD fracture had hangman's fracture. At admission, 13 patients were neurologically intact. However, the remaining patient had spinal cord injury with American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) impairment scale B with C2‐3 bilateral facet dislocation. All four anterior TD fracture patients underwent posterior C2‐3 fusion. While four of 10 posterior TD fracture patients underwent C2‐3 anterior fusion, the remaining six underwent posterior fusion. At last follow‐up, 100% (14/14) of the patients achieved solid fusion, and visual analog scale for neck pain was significantly improved (5.9 vs 2.2, P < 0.001). One patient with ASIA impairment scale B had significantly improved to scale D. No major complications occurred. Conclusion: Our study showed that surgically managed TD fractures of the C2 showed a high incidence of other associated spine injuries including hangman's fracture and C2‐3 discoligamentous injury. Therefore, special attention and careful radiologic evaluation are needed to investigate the presence of other associated spine injuries including hangman's fracture and C2‐3 discoligamentous injury, which are likely to require surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Modern total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) prostheses are uncemented press-fit designs whose stability is dependent on bone ingrowth. Preoperative insufficient bone density reduces initial local stability at the bone-implant interface, and we hypothesized that this may play a role in periprosthetic osteolysis. We aimed to investigate the preoperative bone density of the distal tibia and talus and compare these in patients with and without osteolysis. Methods: We enrolled 209 patients (218 ankles) who underwent primary TAA using the HINTEGRA prosthesis. The overall mean follow-up duration was 66 (range, 24-161) months. The patients were allocated into 2 groups according to the presence of periprosthetic osteolysis: the osteolysis group (64 patients, 65 ankles) and nonosteolysis group (145 patients, 153 ankles). Between the 2 groups, we investigated and compared the radiographic outcomes, including the Hounsfield unit (HU) value around the ankle joint and the coronal plane alignment. Results: HU values of the tibia and talus measured at 5 mm from the reference points were higher than those at 10 mm in each group. However, comparing the osteolysis and nonosteolysis groups, we found no significant intergroup difference in HU value at every measured level in the tibia and talus (P >.05). Concerning the coronal plane alignment, there were no significant between-group differences in the tibiotalar and talar tilt angles (P >.05). Conclusion: Patients with osteolysis showed similar preoperative bone density of the distal tibia and talus compared with patients without osteolysis. Our results suggest that low bone density around the ankle joint may not be associated with increased development of osteolysis. Level of Evidence: Level III, retrospective cohort study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]