Faculty Bibliography

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscal injuries are common in both athletes and the general population. Such injuries may lead to early-onset post-traumatic osteoarthritis (OA) in 50% to 60% of patients, regardless of whether patients had reconstruction performed. In younger patients, intra-articular (IA) injection of hyaluronic acid (HA) may be useful for improving short-term outcomes and possibly slowing or arresting the progression of OA. Hyaluronic acid has anti-inflammatory, anabolic, and chondroprotective effects, which have been demonstrated in in vitro and animal models of meniscal and ACL injury. Results from several clinical trials and patient series have demonstrated the benefit of IA HA injection in younger patients with acute knee damage, including symptomatic meniscal tears and isolated ACL injury with chondral injury, although evidence for this is less extensive than the large database supporting the use of IA HA injection in older patients with knee OA. Administration of HA has been shown to improve outcomes in patients undergoing knee arthroscopy, and IA HA also has direct antinociceptive effects that may contribute to its benefit in patients with patellofemoral pain. However, the use of IA HA in patients with ACL injury or early OA has been evaluated in only a few studies. Thus, there is a need for larger-scale randomized controlled trials with longer durations of follow-up to provide more definitive evaluation of the efficacy and safety of IA HA in these patients. Such studies provide an opportunity to further elucidate the benefits of IA HA in younger patients with knee damage and may result in appropriate expansion of use in this large population, which has a substantial need for new treatment alternatives

The use of bioabsorbable cross-pin transcondylar fixation has remained a viable option for femoral fixation in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Although numerous biomechanical studies have demonstrated high fixation strength and minimal slippage with use of this method of fixation, there have been increasing reports of a variety of clinical complications associated with these implants. We reviewed the literature for all complications associated with the Bio-TransFix implant and present a case report of a patient status after ACL reconstruction using Bio-TransFix cross-pin femoral fixation with iliotibial band friction syndrome from a broken cross-pin four month post-operatively.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to review imaging of the rotator interval, an anatomically complex region in the shoulder that plays an important role in the normal function of the shoulder joint. The rotator interval can be difficult to evaluate by imaging, and it is not routinely evaluated arthroscopically unless the clinical examination or imaging findings suggest an abnormality of the rotator interval. Rotator interval pathology is implicated in glenohumeral instability, biceps instability and adhesive capsulitis-entities which remain a challenge to diagnose and treat. CONCLUSION: Imaging can play an important role in increasing suspicion for injury to the rotator interval so that this region can be evaluated and appropriate treatment can be initiated

Mechanical obstacles may infrequently impede closed reduction of anterior shoulder dislocation. Imaging techniques such as arthrography, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) complement conventional radiography by allowing identification of obstacles to reduction. We present a case of irreducible anterior glenohumeral dislocation resulting from an initial anterior dislocation, converted to a posterior dislocation with an attempt at reduction, then converted back to anterior dislocation with a second reduction attempt. Soft tissue obstacles to shoulder reduction should be suspected when plain films do not identify a bony fragment as the culprit. CT and MRI are useful for identifying the cause of irreducibility and for operative planning

Anterior glenohumeral instability complicated by bone loss is a challenging problem and, when severe, may require surgical treatment with bone grafting. We review our institution's experience with humeral head and glenoid bone grafting for large Hill-Sachs lesions and glenoid defects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients who underwent intra-articular bone reconstruction for Hill-Sachs and large glenoid defects for anterior instability at our institution during 2002-2008 were retrospectively reviewed. Those who had undergone concomitant humeral head replacement were excluded. Six patients were identified as having undergone allograft or autograft iliac crest bone graft reconstruction of the glenoid, with four available for full follow-up (average 39 months; range, 7 to 63). Five patients were identified as having undergone humeral head allograft reconstruction and four were available for full follow-up (average 28 months; range, 11 to 40). The remaining three patients were available for telephone follow-up. American Shoulder and Elbow Society (ASES) and University of California, Los Angles (UCLA) scores were recorded and radiographs obtained. RESULTS: Average postoperative ASES and UCLA scores for glenoid bone graft patients were 91 and 33, respectively. Average postoperative ASES and UCLA scores for humeral bone graft patients were 85.3 and 28.4, respectively. Glenoid bone graft shoulders, when compared to the opposite normal side, lost an average of 3 degrees of forward flexion, 10 degrees of external rotation, and two levels of internal rotation. Humeral head bone-grafted shoulders, lost an average of 23 degrees of forward flexion, 8 degrees of external rotation, and two levels of internal rotation. No episodes of recurrent subluxation or dislocations were reported. Radiographs showed no evidence of graft resorption or hardware prominence. CONCLUSIONS: Bone grafting procedures around the shoulder for the treatment of instability provided relief from recurrent instability and good functional results