ACL repair for athletes?

Background: The current gold standard treatment for an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear in an athlete is an arthroscopic ACL reconstruction with autografts. This restores the knee stability but is associated with unique complications like graft re-tear, kinesiophobia and graft donor site morbidity. ACL suture repair (ACLSR) is an attractive alternative method of surgical management of this injury. Current science of ACLSR: The potential advantages of performing a repair are the preservation of native biology and proprioceptive function of ACL, elimination of a graft and preservation of bone stock. The purported benefits are better stability, reduction of kinesiophobia and faster rehabilitation. ACLSR is now performed only for proximal (femoral-sided) tears in the acute phase, when the tissue quality is good and using high-strength nonabsorbable sutures. There are several techniques for performing ACLSR but broadly speaking are either non-augmented, static augmented with suture tape, dynamic augmented or using bio-scaffolds. Clinical outcome of ACLSR: There is a lot of literature on ACLSRs including case series, cohort studies and randomized controlled trials. The results from these studies are encouraging but mostly pertain to patient reported outcome measures, are in small numbers and in the short-term. The results are also inconsistent across different studies and not specifically performed for the athletic population. Moreover, most of these studies are from the innovator or designer surgeons and groups and have not been independently validated. Conclusion: Currently, there is insufficient evidence to recommend ACLSR as a preferred method of managing even acute proximal tears in athletes. Improved rates of return to sports, lower retear rate and lesser kinesiophobia needs to be proven in athletes.

Proof of concept study for using UR10 robot to help total hip replacement.

BACKGROUND: The demand for total hip replacement (THR) for treating osteoarthritis has grown substantially worldwide. The existing robotic systems used in THR are invasive and costly. This study aims to develop a less-invasive and low-cost robotic system to assist THR surgery. METHODS: A preliminary robotic reaming system was developed based on a UR10 robot equipped with a reamer to cut acetabulum. A novel approach was proposed to cut through a 5 mm hole in femur such that the operation is less invasive to the patients. RESULTS: The average error of the cutting hemisphere by the robotic reaming system is 0.1182 mm which is smaller than the average result reaming by hand (0.1301 mm). CONCLUSION: The robotic reaming can help make THR procedures less invasive and more accurate. Moreover, the system is expected to be significantly less expensive than the robotic systems available in the market at present.

Meyer's Muscle Pedicle Bone Graft a Novel Procedure in Treatment of Neglected Fracture Neck of Femur in Pediatric Age Group-A Case Report.

Meyers muscle pedicle graft has been used in delayed presentation and non-union of neck femur fracture in adults with good results. Delayed presentation or non-union neck femur in children is not uncommon in children. Subtrochanteric valgus osteotomy with or without fixation has been suggested with varying results. We present meyers muscle graft being used in paediatric age group with excellent result at 3 years follow-up. There are limited report literature of meyers muscle pedicle graft being used in children.