Talus Osteochondral Defect Treatment With Biological Scaffold

Talus Osteochondral defects (OCDs) are challenging and there is no consensus in literature regarding which is the best method of treatment. New techniques coming from regenerative medicine are being considered good alternatives of treatment and are being used exponentially in orthopaedic surgery. Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) is the second generation of platelet concentrates. It has a convenient method of acquisition and can be used to create a biological scaffold which is able to seal up cavitary lesions. In this article, the authors describe a talus OCD treated with a biological scaffold, reporting the technique details and its results clinical and radiological results. The case report objective is to portray the use of this kind of biological material, its advantages, and limitations.Level of Evidence: Level 5.

Ankle desarthrodesis: report of three cases

The good results of primary ankle arthroplasty and long-term dissatisfaction with arthrodesis have made arthrodesis, that is, the conversion of an arthrodesis into arthroplasty, an option for patients with a painful ankle fusion. This study presents the results of three patients submitted to ankle desarthrodesis in Brazil between 2019 and 2021. Two men and one woman, aged between 48 and 52 years and with an arthrodesis prosthetic interval between two and 30 years, presented satisfactory results after arthroplasty. Pain reduction and increased functional capacity were observed, representing an improvement in the visual analog scale (VAS) between 5 and 6 points, range of motion (ROM) gain between 20Åã and 45Åã and progress in the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) score between 17 and 54 points in the postoperative follow-up. Although it is a procedure with a long learning curve, desarthrodesis should be considered a therapeutic alternative to painful ankle arthrodesis. Level of Evidence IV; Case Series; Therapeutic Studies - investigating the results of treatment.

Is there clinical evidence to support autologous matrix-induced chondrogenesis (AMIC) for chondral defects in the talus? A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study is to systematically review the literature on clinical outcomes of patients who have undergone autologous matrix-induced chondrogenesis (AMIC) for treatment of osteochondral lesions of the talus (OCL) and compare the studies' outcomes.

METHODS

Pubmed and Embase were searched in January 2020 for articles concerning OCL surgery. Studies were included if they had a minimum 1-year follow-up and the primary measures were functional outcomes. The meta-analysis compared the Visual Analogic Score (VAS), the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Score (AOFAS), and the Foot Function Index (FFI) between baseline and follow-up of 1-2years, and 3-5years. A random effects model was used to evaluate outcome changes.

RESULTS

The search returned 15 studies, with a total of 492 patients. The VAS improved 4.45 and 4.6 points from baseline to the 1-2year and 3-5yearfollow-up, respectively (p<0.001). AOFAS improved 31.59 and 32.47 points from baseline to the 1-2year and 3-5yearfollow-up, respectively (p<0.001). The FFI showed a significant improvement of 30.93 points from baseline to year 3-5 (p<0.001). A total of 6 patients with revision surgeries have been reported within the follow up period. It was not possible to correlate clinical features like lesion size, surgical approach, and bone marrow stimulation technique to the reported outcome.

CONCLUSION

Surgical treatment of OCL via the AMIC procedure provided significant improvement in the functional outcome and pain scores when compared to the pre-operative values. Improvements were observed up to 5years post-operatively.

Medial and Lateral Combined Ligament Arthroscopic Repair for Multidirectional Ankle Instability

Background:

The high prevalence of ankle sprains in the population produces a significant number of patients with lateral instability. Persistence of this condition may lead to the progressive involvement of medial structures, causing a multidirectional rotational instability.

Methods:

This is a retrospective study with patients diagnosed with multidirectional instability who underwent ankle arthroscopy with medial (arthroscopic tensioning) and lateral repair (arthroscopic Bröstrom) between January 2018 and January 2020. All patients were evaluated for pain and function according to the visual analog scale (VAS) score and the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) Hindfoot Score at a mean of 14.8 months (5-27 months) in follow-up. A total of 30 ankles (29 patients) were included in the study.

Results:

The AOFAS score increase from a 49.7 (CI 5.8) to a 91.9 (CI 2.4) mean (P = .001) and was followed by significant improvement in the mean VAS score (6.8, CI 0.37-0.95, CI 0.31). The majority of patients had associated procedures (53.3%), and a low complication rate was found (16.6%).

Conclusion:

Combined medial and lateral arthroscopic repair might be an effective and safe alternative in the treatment of multidirectional instability. Inclusion of the deltoid ligament complex and the low invasiveness of the arthroscopic technique may improve the clinical outcomes of these patients.

Level of Evidence:

Level IV, retrospective case series.

Diabetic foot and its serial treatment in high-risk patients: focusing on the individual

OBJECTIVES

To assess knowledge about diabetic foot, care measures, and the importance attached to serial treatment in a group of high-risk diabetic foot patients.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study, carried out in a tertiary hospital, with 25 patients undergoing serial treatment for diabetic foot. The tabulation of the data occurred through the use of three methodological figures: core idea, key expressions, and the collective subject discourse.

RESULTS

It became evident that even among high-risk patients with diabetic foot, there is no complete knowledge about the definition of the disease. Despite this, all participants reported practicing daily care measures, including frequent inspection of the feet, food care, and attention to footwear. Regarding the importance of serial treatment, there was unanimous recognition of the relevance of this practice, which improves self-care discipline, optimizes the understanding of the disease, and helps to prevent progression.

CONCLUSIONS

Authentic speeches in the context of a pathology of considerable prevalence manifested, in an unprecedented way, with conceptions about its definition, care measures, and importance of serial treatment in a high-risk group.

Subtalar arthroscopic debridment for the treatment of sinus tarsi syndrome: case series

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study is to report the results of arthroscopic debridement of the subtalar joint in eight patients with Sinus Tarsi Syndrome (STS) refractory to conservative treatment.

METHODS

This is a retrospective study of eight patients with STS who underwent subtalar arthroscopy for debridement of the sinus tarsi between January 2015 and January 2017 after six months of conservative treatment. All patients answered an epidemiological questionnaire and underwent functional evaluation with the Visual Analogue Pain Scale (VAS) and the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society Score (AOFAS) in the preoperative and in the last evaluation (average of 12 months - 6-24 months).

RESULTS

All patients showed severe synovitis in the region. Seven patients had remnants of the talocalcaneal ligaments and six of the cervical ligament. AOFAS increased by 30 points on average (51.75 in the preoperative period to 82.62 in the last follow-up) and the VAS decreased on average by 5 points (7.37 preoperatively to 2.12 in the last follow-up). These results were statistically significant with p = 0.043 and p = 0.032 respectively. Six patients described the result as excellent and two as good. No complications were reported. All patients returned to sports after six months of follow-up.

CONCLUSION

The arthroscopic debridement of the subtalar joint is an effective and safe alternative in the treatment of STS refractory to conservative treatment. More studies, with a prospective methodology, are necessary to prove the results of this technique.

Analysis of liver fragment subjected to autologous transplant at rat's retroperitoneum

BACKGROUND

To investigate the regeneration process of autologous implants of liver on the retroperitoneum.

METHODS

Thirty male Fisher rats were used divided in to group 1 (G1): studied 60 d after surgery; group 2 (G2): studied 90 d after surgery; group 3 (G3): studied 180 d after surgery; and group C (GC): animals without surgery. Hepatic fragment was processed for histologic and biochemical analysis.

RESULTS

There was inflammatory infiltrate, diffuse hydropic degeneration, necrosis, and moderate fibrosis that reduced in direct relation to the postsurgical time. The concentration of albumin was different between GC and G1 and between G1 and G3 (P = 0.0007). The Catalase (CAT) was related to the time of surgery with GC being different when compared with G1, G2, and G3 (P < 0.0001). The oxidative stress measured through the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances lipid peroxidation was different between the GC and the G2 groups (P = 0.0381).

CONCLUSIONS

The analysis made showed hepatic regeneration in the fragment subjected to autologous transplant at the retroperitoneum.