Efficacy and safety of CARTIGROW® in patients with articular cartilage defects of the knee joint: a four year prospective studys.

INTRODUCTION: Research shows autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) is a promising treatment for articular cartilage lesions. In this study, we assessed mid-term efficacy and safety of gel-based ACI or autologous adult live cultured chondrocytes (CARTIGROW®) implantation in patients with cartilage defects of the knee joint. METHODS: In this prospective, open-label study, patients (19-38 years) with focal, international cartilage repair society grade III or IV articular cartilage defects of the knee joint were enroled at four centres across India from April 2015 to September 2015. Punch biopsy was conducted to harvest cartilage, from which chondrocytes were isolated and cultured, and the characterised chondrocytes were implanted into the cartilage defect. Key efficacy outcomes were assessed by quantitative changes in international knee documentation committee (IKDC), visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, and qualitative changes in magnetic resonance imaging at six months and four years from baseline. RESULTS: Of the14 patients enroled in the study, all patients completed the six month follow-up and 11 completed the four year follow-up. The IKDC score improved significantly from 32.84 ± 9.25 at baseline to 67.49 ± 13.03 at six months (mean difference [MD] 34.66 ± 13.00, p < 0.0001) and to 60.18 ± 10.33 at four years (MD 28.21 ± 15.14, p = 0.0001). The VAS score reduced from 72.00 ± 14.40 at baseline to 16.64 ± 17.03 at six months (MD 55.36 ± 24.50, p < 0.0001) and further to 12.72 ± 9.05 at four years (MD 62.09 ± 10.66, p < 0.0001). All patients showed improvement on MRI of the knee joint. No adverse events were reported. CONCLUSION: Autologous adult live cultured chondrocytes (CARTIGROW®) implantation showed good mid-term efficacy in patients with cartilage defects of the knee joint with no side-effects.

NCI Cancer Research Data Commons: Cloud-Based Analytic Resources.

The NCI's Cloud Resources (CR) are the analytical components of the Cancer Research Data Commons (CRDC) ecosystem. This review describes how the three CRs (Broad Institute FireCloud, Institute for Systems Biology Cancer Gateway in the Cloud, and Seven Bridges Cancer Genomics Cloud) provide access and availability to large, cloud-hosted, multimodal cancer datasets, as well as offer tools and workspaces for performing data analysis where the data resides, without download or storage. In addition, users can upload their own data and tools into their workspaces, allowing researchers to create custom analysis workflows and integrate CRDC-hosted data with their own. See related articles by Brady et al., p. 1384, Wang et al., p. 1388, and Kim et al., p. 1404.

Arthroscopic Bankart and Remplissage for Anteroinferior Instability With Subcritical Bone Loss Has a Low Recurrence Rate.

Objective: To demonstrate whether arthroscopic remplissage can achieve good outcomes without significantly impairing shoulder function. Methods: Consecutive patients with recurrent anterior glenohumeral dislocation, glenoid bone loss <20%, and engaging Hill-Sachs lesion who were operated with arthroscopic Bankart repair and remplissage between 2013 and 2016 were identified. Patients were evaluated clinically for shoulder instability, range of motion, and scored as per Oxford Shoulder Instability Score and University of California at Los Angeles score. The data were analyzed with the paired t test and the Wilcoxon signed rank test, as applicable. For all analyses, statistical significance was set at P < .05. Results: Twenty-four patients were included in the study. The average age of the patients was 30 years (range, 18-47 years), with 91.67% (n = 22) male patients and 8.33% (n = 2) female patients. The range of motion at follow-up was comparable with the normal side, with loss of external rotation of 3.33° (n = 24). Significant improvement was observed in the Oxford Shoulder Instability Score (21.95 vs 41.29, P < 0.001) and University of California at Los Angeles score (18.33 vs 30.29, P < .001). A failure rate of 4.17% (1 patient with a positive apprehension test) was seen. Conclusions: Arthroscopic Bankart repair with the remplissage procedure helps to re-establish stability and achieve good shoulder outcomes for patients with recurrent anterior glenohumeral dislocation and an engaging Hill-Sachs lesion and without significant glenoid bone loss. Level of Evidence: Level IV, therapeutic.

Functional Outcomes of Arthroscopic Combined Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction and Meniscal Repair: A Retrospective Analysis.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the outcomes of arthroscopic meniscal repair performed in combination with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repair. METHODS: This study presents a case series of 34 patients who underwent repair of meniscal tears along with ACL reconstruction from 2014 to 2016. Cases of discoid meniscal lesions and combined or ligament injuries other than ACL injuries were excluded. Patients were followed up periodically, at 3, 6, 9, 12, and 24 months. Preoperative and postoperative functional evaluations were performed using visual analog scale, International Knee Documentation Committee, and Lysholm knee scores. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 29.1 years (range, 17-44 years). The mean follow-up period was 18 ± 7.8 months (range, 6-24 months). Among the 34 individual knees, 1 patient (3%) underwent both medial and lateral meniscal repairs. Medial meniscal repair was performed in 20 knees (59%), whereas the lateral meniscus was repaired in 13 knees (38%). A longitudinal tear was the most common type of tear pattern, followed by radial (6 patients) and complex (3 patients) tear patterns. The radial and complex tears were treated with an additional partial meniscectomy. The mean International Knee Documentation Committee score was 38.46 preoperatively and improved to 80.30 at final postoperative follow-up (statistically significant difference, P < .01). The mean Lysholm score was 50.30 preoperatively and improved to 91.40 at final postoperative follow-up (statistically significant difference, P < .01). According to the Lysholm knee score, 31 patients (89%) had excellent or good results. The mean visual analog scale score decreased from 7.3 preoperatively to 2 postoperatively. The clinical success rate of the repairs was 89%. Of 35 repairs, 4 (11%) had retears. CONCLUSIONS: Arthroscopic meniscal repair along with ACL reconstruction provided predictable high rates of meniscal healing and yielded favorable functional and clinical results. Patient selection remains one of the most important prognostic factors. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV, therapeutic case series.

Graft Retensioning by Dialing of Suture Disk on Tibial-Side Fixation in Arthroscopic Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: Pathak Pune Dialing Technique.

Arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is a common procedure performed for symptomatic ACL tears, especially in athletes. The desired surgical end product with any surgical fixation device remains a taut ACL graft, which is crucial during postoperative rehabilitation to reduce the risk of knee instability and rerupture of the ACL graft. The purpose of this Technical Note and accompanying video is to describe a simple and cost-effective technique to easily retension the ACL graft after tibial fixation in ACL reconstruction using a suture disk device. The technique uses a simple suture disk device to provide strong tibial fixation, along with the unique ability to retension the ACL graft by dialing it in a clockwise direction.

Modified Surgical Technique of Making Posteromedial Portal in Knee Arthroscopy Using a Radiofrequency Device.

In knee arthroscopy, a posteromedial portal is used for various indications including arthroscopic posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, posterior cruciate ligament avulsion fracture fixation, posterior medial meniscal repair, medial ramp lesion repair, and synovectomy. Making the posteromedial portal is challenging for young and even experienced surgeons. Creating the posteromedial portal in knee arthroscopy is challenging and technically demanding for surgeons because of the thick muscular cover, proximity of the neurovascular bundle, tenacious tough capsule, and excessive fat deposition in the posteromedial knee and thigh region. Access for viewing the posteromedial compartment during different procedures is made simple, safe, and replicable with this technique of creating the posteromedial portal. This article describes a simple way to create the posteromedial portal using a radiofrequency device by a modified outside-in surgical technique.

Is ACL reconstruction only for athletes? A study of the incidence of meniscal and cartilage injuries in an ACL-deficient athlete and non-athlete population: an Indian experience.

While anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is readily offered to athletes, non-athletes are often treated conservatively. We carried out a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis study to compare the incidence of meniscal and cartilage injuries in an athlete and non-athlete population in relation to time of presentation since injury. The results were used to assess the need and relevance of ACL reconstruction in the non-athlete population. The study included 1375 patients who underwent ACL reconstruction between 1998 and 2004. These patients were initially broadly divided into two categories: athletes (575) and non-athletes (800). Each category was then sub-divided into four subgroups based on time elapsed between the injury and presentation at our clinic (Group A, 3 months; Group B, 3-12 months; Group C, 1-3 years; Group D, more than 3 years). Arthroscopic findings were documented for medial and lateral meniscus and cartilage injuries, and comparisons were made between the incidence of associated injuries in the corresponding groups. There was a statistically significant increase in the incidence of meniscal injuries and cartilage injuries after 1 year in both the groups. There was no difference in the incidence of meniscal and cartilage injuries in athletes and non-athletes among the corresponding groups. (chi-square test, p = 0.05). These results demonstrate that both athletes and non-athletes are equally susceptible for long-term meniscal and cartilage injuries if ACL reconstruction is not carried out early.