AOA Critical Issues Symposium: So, You Want to Be a Department Leader: Essentials for Success.

ABSTRACT: Most health systems are vertically integrated, and the leaders of orthopaedic surgery departments or service lines must have a comprehensive understanding of their role in the strategic plan of the health system. Orthopaedic surgery departments must be profitable while supporting the tripartite mission of excellence in clinical care, research, and education. This symposium had 4 specific objectives: to discuss how to (1) create synergy between the department or service line and the health system, (2) develop a strategy to enhance financial stability and revenue growth, (3) develop a comprehensive plan to enhance recruitment and retention of a diverse faculty, and (4) consider alternative strategies to foster education and research, even when the health system may be more focused on revenue generation.

Complications and functional outcomes of reconstruction with an osteoarticular allograft after intra-articular resection of the proximal aspect of the humerus.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the functional outcome and the complications of reconstruction with an osteoarticular allograft in patients who had had intra-articular resection of the proximal aspect of the humerus. METHODS: Sixteen patients who had had intra-articular resection and reconstruction of the proximal aspect of the humerus for the treatment of a tumor between 1986 and 1996 were evaluated. The length of the resected part of the humerus ranged from eight to 27.5 centimeters. The resections were classified as either S34A or S345A resections of the shoulder girdle on the basis of the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society classification system. Reconstruction was performed with use of a nonirradiated, frozen osteoarticular allograft with intact capsular and rotator cuff attachments. Dual orthogonal dynamic compression plates were used for internal fixation of the allograft to the host bone. The oncological parameters that were evaluated included survival of the patient, local recurrence, and metastasis. The radiographic parameters included time to union, stability of the joint, fracture of the allograft, and fragmentation of the epiphysis of the allograft (subchondral collapse). Survival of the graft was assessed with Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. The modified Musculoskeletal Tumor Society evaluation system was used to assess functional outcome. RESULTS: At a median of forty-seven months (range, fourteen to 130 months) after the operation, fourteen of the patients in the study group were free of disease and two had died of disease. No patient had local recurrence or nonunion. Late complications included four fractures of the allograft and one infection of the graft. A Kaplan-Meier survival curve demonstrated a 68 percent rate of survival of the allograft at five years. Instability of the glenohumeral joint in the form of ptosis and anterior subluxation was noted in three patients, and dislocation of the glenohumeral joint was seen in eight patients. On the basis of the modified Musculoskeletal Tumor Society functional evaluation, the mean score at the most recent follow-up evaluation (at a mean of thirty-four months) was 70 percent. This score was lower than the mean score of 81 percent at a mean of fourteen months. All patients had normal manual dexterity and had mild or no pain at the most recent follow-up evaluation. However, all had restriction of recreational activities or partial disability in addition to limitations with regard to placement of the hand and the ability to lift. CONCLUSIONS: Reconstruction of the proximal aspect of the humerus with an osteoarticular allograft is an option that provides good relief of pain and preserves manual dexterity. However, in our study, function was limited by impairment of elevation of the shoulder and hand as well as by decreased strength of the shoulder. There was an extremely high rate of complications, including joint instability, fracture of the allograft, and infection of the allograft. We no longer routinely perform this reconstruction at our institution.

Valgus deformities of the feet and characteristics of gait in patients who have rheumatoid arthritis.

To investigate the cause of valgus deformity of the hindfoot in patients who have rheumatoid arthritis and to characterize the effects of the deformity on gait, two groups of patients were evaluated clinically, radiographically, and with gait analysis in the laboratory. Group 1 consisted of seven patients who had seropositive rheumatoid arthritis and normal alignment of the feet and Group 2, of ten patients who had rheumatoid arthritis and valgus deformity of the hindfoot. In Group 2, the disease was of longer duration and the feet were more painful than in Group 1. There was no evidence of muscular imbalance, equinus contracture, valgus deformity of the tibiotalar joint, or isolated deficiency of the tibialis posterior (such as weakness, tenosynovitis, or rupture of the tendon) that could have contributed to the development of the valgus deformity. In the patients who had valgus deformity, quantitated electromyography demonstrated that the intensity and duration of activity of the tibialis posterior was significantly increased, apparently in an effort to support the collapsing longitudinal arch of the foot. Gait studies revealed decreases in velocity, stride length, and single-limb-support time, as well as delayed heel-rise in both groups, but the decreases were more marked in the patients who had valgus deformity. The results of this study suggest that valgus deformity of the hindfoot in rheumatoid patients results from exaggerated pronation forces on the weakened and inflamed subtalar joint. These forces are caused by alterations in gait secondary to symmetrical muscular weakness and the effort of the patient to minimize pain in the feet. Radiographs also suggested an association between the valgus deformity of the feet and valgus deformity of the knees in patients who have rheumatoid arthritis.

Delay in the diagnosis and treatment of primary bone sarcoma of the pelvis.

BACKGROUND: Symptoms arising from primary bone sarcoma of the pelvic girdle are often insidious in onset and nonspecific in nature. To make the subtle initial signs and symptoms of these tumors more apparent to clinicians, we studied a cohort of patients who had a primary bone sarcoma of the pelvic girdle. Our purpose was to describe the initial clinical findings and to evaluate the duration, frequency, and implications of delays in the treatment of these tumors. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the data on sixty-eight patients who had a primary bone sarcoma of the pelvic girdle. The data that we reviewed included demographic characteristics; histological diagnosis; anatomical location, size, and stage of the tumor; characteristics of the biopsy specimen; duration and description of symptoms before an accurate diagnosis was made; delay before recognition of the tumor on radiographs; results of diagnostic imaging; inaccurate diagnoses; type of intervention based on these inaccurate diagnoses; and outcome with regard to survival. There were forty high-grade sarcomas and twenty-eight low-grade sarcomas. RESULTS: Excluding two asymptomatic patients in whom the sarcoma was noted incidentally, the average duration of symptoms before an accurate diagnosis was made was ten months (median, six months; range, one month to four years). Common symptoms and findings on physical examination included pain in the buttock (twenty-three patients; 35 percent), a mass (twenty patients; 30 percent), sciatica (nineteen patients; 29 percent), pain in the hip (seventeen patients; 26 percent), pain in the groin (thirteen patients; 20 percent), and low-back pain (fourteen patients; 21 percent). In thirty (44 percent) of the sixty-eight patients, the pelvic sarcoma was not recognized initially and an inaccurate diagnosis was made. The misdiagnoses included a herniated lumbar disc, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, tendinitis, bursitis, an inguinal hernia, a stress fracture, a pilonidal cyst, a recurrent urinary-tract infection, and degenerative arthritis of the spine, hip, and knee. Inappropriate treatment for these misdiagnoses included seven operative procedures (two laminectomies, two debridements, one hip arthrotomy, one total knee replacement, and one inguinal herniorrhaphy), six courses of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, five chiropractic adjustments, four trials of physical therapy, and three local injections of steroids. It took an average of seven months for the clinicians to arrive at the diagnosis of primary pelvic sarcoma. With the numbers available, no significant association between the duration of symptoms before an accurate diagnosis was made and the grade or the stage of the tumor could be detected. In addition, no association between the duration of symptoms and the survival of the patient (p = 0.54) could be determined, with univariate analysis. The grade and the stage of the tumor were strongly associated with the outcome, with a low tumor grade proving to be a favorable prognostic indicator for survival (p = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: Patients who have a primary bone sarcoma of the pelvis often have had symptoms for a long duration that mimic those of more commonly encountered non-neoplastic musculoskeletal conditions. When a patient has symptoms that appear to be out of the ordinary, particularly refractory pain or pain at rest, physicians should include the pelvic girdle in the evaluation and should carefully examine a high-quality radiograph of the entire pelvis.

A comparison of the prognoses for deep and subcutaneous sarcomas of the extremities.

We evaluated 172 patients who had a soft-tissue sarcoma of the extremity in order to determine whether the prognosis for a subcutaneous sarcoma was better than that for a deep sarcoma. At a median of thirty-six months after the biopsy or definitive operation at our hospital, six of the fifty-two patients who had had a subcutaneous sarcoma had died and one had had a local recurrence; in contrast, forty of the 120 patients who had had a deep sarcoma had died and eight had had a local recurrence. Twenty-five (48 percent) of the subcutaneous sarcomas were malignant fibrous histiocytomas, and thirty-eight (73 percent) were small (five centimeters or less in the largest dimension). The three-year estimates of disease-free survival were 85 percent for the patients who had a subcutaneous sarcoma and 54 per cent for those who had a deep sarcoma (p = 0.002). Although the survival estimates remained significantly different when the groups were matched for histological diagnosis and for intracompartmental location (p = 0.0001 and 0.0006, respectively), they were not significantly different when the groups were matched for the size of the tumor (p = 0.42). A Cox proportional-hazards model confirmed that a tumor size of more than five centimeters and the histological grade are the most significant prognostic factors (p = 0.0007 and p = 0.004, respectively): a tumor size of more than five centimeters was associated with a relative risk of 3.5 (95 per cent confidence interval, 1.7 to 7.3), and a higher histological grade was associated with a relative risk of 4.0 (95 per cent confidence interval, 1.6 to 10.3). Subcutaneous location, when considered separately, was not a significant prognostic factor (p = 0.45). The data indicate that a tumor size of more than five centimeters is a more important prognostic indicator than histological diagnosis, depth, or intracompartmental location.

Oncological outcomes of operative treatment of subcutaneous soft-tissue sarcomas of the extremities.

We reviewed the cases of sixty-two patients who had had a subcutaneous sarcoma to determine the effect of tumor and treatment-related variables on the rates of survival and local recurrence. Fifty-nine (95 per cent) of the patients had had an operation at another hospital before being referred to us. Twenty-nine (47 per cent) of the sixty-two tumors were high-grade, forty-two (68 per cent) were small (five centimeters or less), and thirty (48 per cent) were malignant fibrous histiocytomas. We followed a treatment strategy that consisted of repeat excision with the goal of obtaining wide margins. Excluding thirteen patients who had had a palpable local recurrence at the time of presentation, twenty (49 per cent) of forty-one patients who had had a marginal excision at another hospital had microscopic residual tumor on repeat excision. At a median of fifty-six months after the repeat excision, fifty (81 per cent) of the sixty-two patients had been continuously disease-free, one had no evidence of disease, eight had died of the disease, and three had died of other causes. The five-year rate of disease-free survival was 85 per cent (fifty-three of sixty-two patients). There were three local recurrences, all in patients who had had a marginal resection. No recurrences were noted in patients who had had a wide local excision of the tumor or of the previous operative field. Multivariate analysis revealed that a large tumor (greater than five centimeters), a marginal excision, and adjuvant radiation therapy were associated with a worse prognosis. Excellent rates of survival for patients who have a subcutaneous sarcoma, including those who have a large or high-grade tumor and those who have residual tumor following a previous operation, can be obtained with carefully planned operative treatment alone. We recommend operative excision or repeat excision with wide margins because of the high prevalence of residual tumor. Size is the most important tumor-related factor, and the operative margin is the most important treatment-related factor. The additional value of adjuvant radiation therapy remains unproved.

Aneurysmal bone cyst of the extremities. Factors related to local recurrence after curettage with a high-speed burr.

BACKGROUND: Aneurysmal bone cyst is a benign, locally destructive lesion of bone. The rates of local recurrence after curettage have varied widely. Therefore, we performed a retrospective study of patients who had had an aneurysmal bone cyst in order to identify the rate of local recurrence and the prognostic factors related to local recurrence after use of contemporary methods of curettage with a high-speed burr. METHODS: We reviewed the cases of forty patients who had been managed by the same surgeon for an aneurysmal bone cyst, as diagnosed on the basis of the latest pathological review, between January 1, 1976, and December 31, 1993. The patients were evaluated with regard to age, gender, the duration and type of symptoms, the presence or absence of pathological fracture, the status of the growth plate, the bone and part of the bone that were involved, the type of operative procedure, the outcome, the radiographic stage, the findings on magnetic resonance imaging and computerized tomography (when it became available) and on bone scintigraphy, and histological parameters. The median duration of follow-up was eighty-seven months (range, fifteen to 267 months). According to the criteria of Enneking, no patient had a stage-1 lesion (one with a surrounding rim of cortical bone), twenty-four had a stage-2 lesion (one with a clearly defined border but no cortical bone), and sixteen had a stage-3 lesion (one with no clearly defined border). RESULTS: Of the forty patients, thirty-four had curettage with use of a high-speed burr. Of these thirty-four, twenty-two had filling of the defect with a cancellous autogenous graft; four, with a cancellous allograft; and three, with polymethylmethacrylate. In five patients, no material was put into the defect. The remaining six patients had resection through the margin of the lesion. Four (12 percent) of the thirty-four patients who had curettage had a local recurrence. No patient who had an excision through the margin of the lesion had a local recurrence. All local recurrences were in skeletally immature girls who were three, four, ten, and eleven years old. Univariate analysis with use of the chi-square, Fisher exact, and Wilcoxon log-rank tests showed that local recurrence was associated only with a young age (p = 0.0036) and open growth plates (p = 0.039). All local recurrences occurred within two years postoperatively, at two, seven, nine, and twenty-four months, and all were treated successfully with a second operation. CONCLUSIONS: Rates of local control of almost 90 percent can be achieved with thorough curettage with use of a mechanical burr and without use of liquid nitrogen, phenol, or other adjuvants in patients who have an aneurysmal bone cyst of an extremity. A young age and open growth plates are associated with an increased risk of local recurrence.

Operative management of metastases to the pelvis and acetabulum.

Bone metastases to the acetabulum and pelvis can be a devastating and debilitating problem. In certain patients, operative reconstruction of the involved hip can lead to maintenance of independence, pain control, and an increase in the overall quality of life for their remaining life span. These procedures are technically challenging and are associated with a higher complication rate than that for patients having surgery for nonneoplastic disease. They are probably best performed by surgeons with specific training and expertise in tumor surgery and acetabular reconstruction. With proper patient selection, appropriate component use, and competent surgical technique, good-to-excellent results can be obtained.

Making the diagnosis: keys to a successful biopsy in children with bone and soft-tissue tumors.

A well-planned and -executed biopsy is critical in the management of a child with either a bone lesion or a soft-tissue mass. A biopsy is necessary when the orthopedic surgeon, in conjunction with the radiologist, believes that the radiographic studies or patient history indicate a progressive process that requires intervention. Biopsies may be open (incisional or excisional) or closed (needle or trephine). Careful attention to biopsy site and technique is important to avoid complications that may compromise the ability to preserve a limb.

Principles of staging of soft-tissue sarcomas.

The TNM staging system is a modus for diagnosis and treatment in which T is the extent of the tumor involvement, N is lymph node involvement, and M is the metastases; this system is supplemented with a histologic malignancy grade. Staging systems identify specific prognostic factors with which to predict clinical outcome. Staging systems are useful for assigning treatment priorities, determining the role of adjuvant therapies, and evaluating clinical investigations. Unfortunately, no universally accepted staging system for soft-tissue sarcomas exists. This is related to the relatively low incidence of sarcomas, the unique and unpredictable behavior of sarcomas, significant disagreement regarding histogenesis and grading, and lack of consensus regarding the value of various prognostic factors. In adults, the two most commonly used staging systems are those developed by the American Joint Committee on Cancer and by Enneking. In children, the Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study and the International Union Against Cancer have described the systems most commonly used. These systems for soft-tissue sarcomas rely on an ability to accurately determine both the local and distant extent of disease. Advances in the field of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging have made this possible. It is likely that a staging system based upon a more sophisticated understanding of the basic biology of sarcomas will become available.

Fractures in adults at an institution for the developmentally disabled.

This is a 2-year prospective observational study of fractures occurring in residents of a live in center for developmentally disabled adults that is designed to identify risk factors that predispose to injury in this group. Fifty-eight individuals sustained 67 fractures during the study period. Only 18 of the 67 (27%) fractures were witnessed by the healthcare staff. Most fractures were diagnosed by subtle findings of erythema or swelling or by a change in the patient's behavior. Thirty-three of 332 (10%) community ambulators compared with 25 of 103 (24%) less functional residents incurred fractures. This difference is highly significant. Thirty-one of the 58 (53%) patients who sustained fractures during the study had a history of fracture before the study period. Thus, programs to reduce fractures should focus on residents with previous fractures and those with more severe disabilities.

Local progression after operative treatment of metastatic kidney cancer.

The cases of 78 patients with osseous metastases from kidney cancer were reviewed to determine the rate of local progression after operative resection as compared with more traditional intralesional procedures. Group I consisted of 41 (53%) patients who were treated with intralesional procedures involving internal fixation with or without curettage or polymethylmethacrylate. Of the 41 patients, additional operations were recommended for 17 (41%) of the patients who had local osseous progression. Fourteen additional procedures including nine wide resections with reconstruction, three amputations, and two mass excisions were done. Group II consisted of 37 (47%) patients who were treated with marginal or wide resection with or without reconstruction. In this group, only one patient required additional operative intervention for local osseous progression. Median survival of patients in Group I was 20 months compared with 35 months for patients in Group IL This study shows that despite shorter average survival, patients who undergo intralesional surgery are at high risk of reoperation for local progression. Resectional surgery should be considered in patients with skeletal metastases from kidney cancer to lessen the risk of reoperation for local progression.