Faculty Bibliography

Acute Achilles tendon ruptures can be disabling injuries with high personal and societal costs. However, the decision to pursue operative versus nonoperative management following these injuries remains controversial. Functional rehabilitation techniques have been refined such that outcomes may be as good, if not better, with nonoperative treatment. Furthermore, while surgical treatment rates have dramatically decreased in many countries over the prior 15 years, operative repair remains the treatment of choice for most patients in the United States. A critical review is presented regarding outcomes, complications, and rates of return to sport for both pathways to determine the best course of action for patients who sustain this injury.

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND:It is important to understand the current characteristics of orthopaedic surgery program leadership, especially in the current climate of modern medicine. The purpose of this report was to describe the demographic, academic, and geographic characteristics of current orthopaedic chairs and program directors (PDs). METHODS:Orthopaedic surgery residency programs were obtained from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education website and cross-referenced with the Electronic Residency Application Service, identifying 161 residency programs for the 2018 to 2019 cycle. All data were collected in January 2020 to best control for changes in leadership. Demographic and academic information were collected from public websites. For geographic analysis, the United States was divided into five regions, and training locations were categorized as appropriate. RESULTS:A total of 153 chairs and 161 PDs were identified. 98.0% of chairs were men versus 88.8% of PDs (P = 0.001). Chairs had been in practice and in their current position for longer than PDs (26.4 vs 16.8 years [P < 0.005] and 9.1 vs 7.1 years [P = 0.014], respectively). Chairs had more publications and were more likely to be professors than PDs. PDs were more likely to remain at both the same region and institution that they trained in residency. The most common subspecialty was sports among chairs and trauma among PDs, although when compared with national averages orthopaedic trauma and orthopaedic oncology were the most overrepresented subspecialties. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Orthopaedic chairs are more likely to be men, have had longer careers, and have more academic accomplishments than their PD counterparts. Geography appears to have an association with where our leaders end up, especially for PDs. Subspecialization does not notably influence leadership positions, although orthopaedic trauma and orthopaedic oncology surgeons are more commonly represented than expected. This report serves to identify the current state of orthopaedic leadership and may provide guidance for those who seek these leadership positions.

BACKGROUND:With the increasing utilization of patient satisfaction as a metric for clinical care, there is growing interest in techniques that can be used to improve satisfaction in patients undergoing surgery. The purpose of this trial was to assess the impact of day-of-surgery video and phone calls on patient satisfaction. METHODS:We enrolled 251 patients undergoing outpatient orthopaedic surgery with 3 participating surgeons. Surgeons were randomized to 1 of 3 patient communication modalities: no contact (standard of care), phone call, or video call. Several hours following discharge on the day of surgery, the surgeons contacted patients according to their assigned treatment group. At the initial postoperative office visit, satisfaction outcomes were assessed using the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Surgical Care (S-CAHPS) survey and an additional satisfaction questionnaire. RESULTS:Fifty-nine (97%) of 61 patients in the no-contact group, 118 (99%) of 119 patients in the phone group, and 71 (100%) of 71 patients in the video group completed follow-up assessment. The S-CAHPS top-box response rate in both the video group (0.86 ± 0.14, p < 0.001) and the phone group (0.84 ± 0.17, p < 0.001) was greater than in the no-contact group (0.68 ± 0.26). When asked to rate satisfaction with overall care, a greater proportion of patients in the video group (85.9%) gave the top-box response compared with both the phone group (71.8%, p = 0.040) and the no-contact group (60.7%, p = 0.002). Among the patients in the video group, 62.0% indicated that they would prefer a video call in future encounters with their surgeon compared with 1.8% of patients in the no-contact group (p < 0.001) and 1.7% of patients in the phone group (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS:Phone and video calls following discharge are an effective way of enhancing patient satisfaction with the clinical care experience as measured by the S-CAHPS survey. In terms of satisfaction with overall care, video calls may be superior to phone calls. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE/METHODS:Therapeutic Level I. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

The management of symptomatic osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLTs) can be challenging. The number of ways of treating these lesions has increased considerably during the last decade, with published studies often providing conflicting, low-level evidence. This paper aims to present an up-to-date concise overview of the best evidence for the surgical treatment of OLTs. Management options are reviewed based on the size of the lesion and include bone marrow stimulation, bone grafting options, drilling techniques, biological preparations, and resurfacing. Although many of these techniques have shown promising results, there remains little high level evidence, and further large scale prospective studies and systematic reviews will be required to identify the optimal form of treatment for these lesions. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2021;103-B(2):207-212.

Purpose/UNASSIGNED:To systematically review the literature and assess the reported rehabilitation protocols, return-to-play guidelines, and reported rates of return-to-play after meniscal repair. Methods/UNASSIGNED:MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to identify studies on meniscal repair. Studies were included if return-to-play data and/or rehabilitation protocols were reported. The rate and timing of return-to-play was assessed. The rehabilitation protocols were documented, in addition to when to start range of motion (ROM), full ROM, partial weight-bearing (WB), and full WB. Results/UNASSIGNED:Overall, 88 studies met our inclusion criteria. Thirteen studies, including 507 patients, cited a range of 71.2% to 100% of return-to-play, with 53.9% to 92.6% returning to the same/greater level, ranging between 3.3 and 10 months. There was considerable variability in the reported rehabilitation protocols, but the most frequently reported time to begin ROM exercises was within the first week (78.9%) and full ROM at 6 weeks (33.3%). Partial WB was typically begun during the first week (61.0%), and full WB between the fourth and sixth week (65.6%) postoperatively. Following surgery, time elapsed was the most commonly cited criteria for return-to-play (97.0%), with 6 months being the most common time point applied (46.9%). No study advised against returning to competitive or contact sports after meniscal repair. Conclusions/UNASSIGNED:In conclusion, there was a high rate of return-to-play following meniscal repair, with 60% of patients returning to the same level of play. However, there was considerable diversity in the reported rehabilitation protocols and insufficient reporting on return-to-play criteria in the literature. This demonstrates the need for further research and formulation of an evidence-based consensus statement for this patient population. Level of Evidence/UNASSIGNED:Level IV, systematic review of Level I to IV studies.

Purpose/UNASSIGNED:To evaluate the efficacy of oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as the primary postoperative pain medication compared with standard oral opioids after arthroscopic shoulder capsulolabral (Bankart) repair for recurrent anterior shoulder instability. Methods/UNASSIGNED:This was a single-center, prospective, randomized controlled study. Patients aged 18 to 65 years indicated for arthroscopic shoulder capsulolabral repair for recurrent anterior shoulder instability were included. Postoperatively, patients were prescribed 1 of 2 analgesic regimens: (1) 30 ibuprofen (600 mg every 6 to 8 hours as needed) and 10 tablets of oxycodone/acetaminophen (5/325 mg every 6 hours as needed for breakthrough pain) or (2) 30 tablets oxycodone/acetaminophen (5/325 mg every 6 hours as needed). Subjects completed questionnaires at 24, 48, and 96 hours and 1 week after surgery, which included questions about analgesic medication usage, visual analog scale (VAS) pain score, incidence of adverse events, and patient satisfaction. Results/UNASSIGNED: = .05) compared with patients in the NSAID group. Of patients in the NSAID group, 17.5% experienced adverse effects, compared with 35% in the opioid-only group. Conclusions/UNASSIGNED:Use of oral NSAIDs with limited breakthrough opioids results in significantly less opioid use after arthroscopic Bankart repair in the first postoperative week compared with opioids only. Both groups used limited amounts of opioids to control postoperative pain. There were no differences in pain levels at any time point postoperatively or satisfaction between patient groups. Level of Evidence/UNASSIGNED:II, nonblinded randomized control trial.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:The purpose of the current study is to systematically review the current evidence in the literature to ascertain rates of return to play following ACLR with extra-articular augmentation (EA). METHODS:A literature search was performed based on the PRISMA guidelines. Studies were included if they evaluated and reported on return to play following ACLR + EA, case studies and review articles were excluded. The outcomes measured focused on 1) return to play, 2) return to play at the same or higher level, and 3) timing of return to play. Qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis were performed using SPSS. RESULTS:Overall, 19 studies met our inclusion criteria. Among those undergoing primary ACLR, 82.8%-100% were able to return to play, with 64%-100% able to return at the same/higher level of play. All professional athletes were able to return to play and 85.7%-100% able to return to the same level of pre-operative play. The mean time to return was 5-11 months in those undergoing primary ACLR + EA. Among those undergoing revision ACLR, 50-88.4% were able to return to play, with 41.5%-77.8% able to return at the same/higher level of play. None of the included 5 studies comparing rate of return to play between ACLR + EA or ACLR found a significant difference between them. However, among the 6 studies comparing rate of return to play at the same level ACLR + EA or ACLR, 2 studies found a significant difference in rate of return to play at the same/higher level in those undergoing ACLR + EA. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:ACLR + EA resulted in high levels of return to play in those undergoing either primary or revision ACLR. Additionally, comparative studies of patients undergoing primary ACLR with or without EA reported similar high rates of return to play.

IMPORTANCE/OBJECTIVE:Cadaveric and MRI findings have demonstrated significantly less labral separation and displacement when the shoulder is placed in external rotation as compared with internal rotation. OBJECTIVE:The purpose of the current study is to meta-analyse the randomised controlled trials in the literature to compare immobilisation in external versus internal rotation after first-time anterior shoulder dislocation. EVIDENCE REVIEW/METHODS:A literature search of MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library was performed based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Randomised controlled trials comparing immobilisation in external rotation versus internal rotation for first-time anterior shoulder dislocation were included. FINDINGS/RESULTS:Nine randomised controlled trials with 795 patients were included. The mean age of included patients was 29 years, 82.4% were male and the mean follow-up was 25.5 months. As compared with immobilisation in internal rotation, compliance was significantly higher (74.5% vs 67.4%, p=0.01), and the rate of recurrent dislocations was significantly lower (22.2% vs 33.4%, p=0.02) with immobilisation in external rotation. Additionally, in patients 20-40 years old the rate of recurrent dislocations was significantly lower in those treated with immobilisation in external rotation than internal rotation (12.1% vs 31.4%, p=0.006). Immobilisation in external rotation also resulted in a higher rate of return to preinjury level of play (60.1% vs 42.6%, p=0.0001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE/CONCLUSIONS:Immobilisation of the shoulder in external rotation after a traumatic first-time anterior shoulder dislocation results in a higher compliance rate, a lower recurrent dislocation rate and a higher rate of return to play as compared with immobilisation in internal rotation. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE/METHODS:Level I.

Meniscal pathology is one of the most common structural knee issues seen and managed by the orthopaedic surgeon. An ever-evolving armamentarium of management options exists that are geared toward the elimination of symptoms and restoration of normal knee function. A common theme among these management options is to preserve meniscal tissue whenever possible through repair or minimization of meniscal excision, as the literature has shown that the loss of meniscal tissue can significantly alter the distribution of forces and contact stresses on knee articular cartilage, thus predisposing the joint to degenerative osteoarthritis. In the setting of meniscal injuries or insufficiency, various advances in repair techniques, use of meniscal allografts, and use of biologic adjuvants have been reported to help preserve and/or attempt to restore the native kinematic properties of the knee. It is important to explore meniscal function, its associated pathologies, and currently available treatment options that are supported by short-term and long-term clinical data.