Distal Femoral Fresh Osteochondral Allografts: Follow-up at a Mean of Twenty-two Years.

BACKGROUND: Osteochondral defects of the knee in young, active patients represent a challenge to the orthopaedic surgeon. Our study examined long-term outcomes of the use of fresh allograft for posttraumatic osteochondral and osteochondritis dissecans defects in the distal aspect of the femur. METHODS: We reviewed the cases of sixty-three patients who underwent osteochondral allograft transplantation to the distal aspect of the femur between 1972 and 1995. Five patients who resided out of the country were lost to follow-up. Indications for the allograft procedure were an age of less than fifty years and a unipolar posttraumatic osteochondral or osteochondritis dissecans defect in the distal aspect of the femur that was larger than 3 cm in diameter and 1 cm in depth. RESULTS: Fifty-eight patients ages eleven to forty-eight years at the time of surgery (mean age, twenty-eight years) were followed for a mean of 21.8 years (range, fifteen to thirty-two years). Thirteen of the fifty-eight cases required further surgery; three underwent graft removal, nine were converted to total knee arthroplasty, and one underwent multiple debridements followed by above-the-knee amputation. Three patients died during the study due to unrelated causes. A Kaplan-Meier analysis of graft survival showed rates of 91%, 84%, 69%, and 59% at ten, fifteen, twenty, and twenty-five years, respectively. Patients with surviving grafts had good function, with a mean modified Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) score of 86 at fifteen years or more following the allograft transplant surgery. Late osteoarthritic degeneration on radiographs was associated with lower HSS scores and poorer clinical outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Fresh osteochondral allograft was found to provide a long-term solution for large articular cartilage defects in the distal aspect of the femur in young, active patients. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Giant Aortic Root Aneurysm Presenting as Acute Type A Aortic Dissection.

A 49-year-old woman with four months of increasing episodic palpitations, chest pain, and shortness of breath presented to an outside clinic where a new 4/6 systolic ejection murmur was identified. A transthoracic echocardiogram revealed a large aortic root aneurysm. The patient underwent emergent repair of the dissected root aneurysm with a modified Bentall procedure utilizing a #19 St Jude Valsalva mechanical valve conduit. Postoperatively, she required a permanent pacemaker placement. Her echo showed ejection fraction improvement from a preoperative 25% to a postoperative 35%. She was discharged home on postoperative day 7.

Arthroscopically assisted fixation of the lesser trochanter fracture: a case series.

Avulsion fractures of the lesser trochanter in adolescents are uncommon. This injury is a result of a sudden forceful contraction of the iliopsoas tendon. It usually occurs during vigorous sport activity. Historically, these injuries were treated non-operatively, with guarded results, including weak hip flexor strength and non-union, hindering return to competitive sport. We report a series of three arthroscopically assisted fracture fixations performed by the senior author, using cannulated screw fixation in two cases and an anchor in one case. Mobilization was commenced immediately following surgery, allowing weight bearing as tolerated using crutches for 4 weeks, thereafter unaided walking was allowed. Patients were assessed at 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months and 1-year post-operatively. Radiographs were utilized to confirm full union. All three patients were able to mobilize unaided by 4 weeks post-operatively and two of the three patients returned to competitive sport at 3 months. Near-anatomical union was achieved in all cases. No complications were noted during surgery and the peri-operative period in our series. The utilization of arthroscopic reduction and fixation of avulsion of the lesser trochanter results in good fixation and allows a faster recovery with a return to sports activity, and therefore, we suggest it as a viable treatment option for such injuries.

Cardiac manifestations of Q fever infection: case series and a review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii, an uncommon intracellular bacterium found in livestock and domesticated dogs and cats. A minority of patients who acquire acute Q fever will subsequently develop chronic Q fever endocarditis, which often manifests in valvular insufficiency. METHOD: We review recent literature and report the clinical presentation, treatment, and serology of three surgical patients with Q fever. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Three patients with Q fever were successfully treated at our institution, including the first known case of a C. burnetii infection manifesting in a pediatric patient with isolated aortic coarctation.

Fresh-stored osteochondral allografts for the treatment of femoral head defects: surgical technique and preliminary results.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to present the preliminary clinical and radiographic outcomes of the treatment of femoral head osteochondral defects in eight consecutive symptomatic patients with fresh-stored osteochondral allografts via a trochanteric osteotomy. METHODS: This study included all consecutive patients treated in our department between 2008 and 2010 for worsening pain and mechanical symptoms of femoral head osteochondral defects. Each patient had preoperative routine hip radiographs and a preoperative magnetic resonance imaging study that determined and recorded the defect size and femoral head diameters. Allograft donors were identified through the Multiple Organ Retrieval and Exchange program (Ontario, Canada). RESULTS: The osteochondral defects were secondary to osteochondritis dissecans in four patients, avascular necrosis in three and femoral head fracture without dislocation in one. The patients' average age at surgery was 23.7 (range 17-42), and the average follow-up was 41 months (range 24-54). Follow-up included clinical and radiographic examinations at standard intervals. The average Harris hip scores improved from 57.7 (range 50-65) points preoperatively to 83.9 (range 72-94) points at latest follow-up. Five patients had good-to-excellent clinical outcomes, and one had a fair outcome. One patient was converted to a total hip arthroplasty due to progression of arthritis. Another patient's graft subsided and he underwent a successful repeat transplantation. An additional patient required the removal of the screws transfixing her trochanter due to persistent irritation. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that fresh-stored osteochondral allograft transplantation using a trochanteric slide and surgical dislocation is a viable treatment option for femoral head defects in young patients.

Hedgehog signaling pathway molecules and ALDH1A1 expression in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer.

INTRODUCTION: The Hedgehog Signaling Pathway (HHSP) has been implicated in the development of multiple cancers. HHSP activation may primarily be hedgehog ligand-dependent in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); while a subset may be ligand-independent. In this study NSCLC primary tumors were used to identify correlations between multiple biomarkers thought to be involved in the HHSP and the clinical outcomes of patients with NSCLC. Identification of such correlations could be used to aid in NSCLC treatment and predicting patient prognosis. METHODS: A tissue microarray representing 248 clinically annotated stage I-II NSCLC cases was stained using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and scored for HHSP proteins namely, SHH, PTCH1, SMO, GLI1, and GLI2; as well as, ALDH1A1, a putative cancer stem cell marker. Data was analyzed for correlation between IHC staining, EGFR and KRAS mutations, and clinical characteristics including relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: In adenocarcinoma, there were significant correlations of IHC expression between SHH and downstream HHSP receptor SMO (p=0.017) and transcription factor GLI1 (p=0.001), while SMO correlated with GLI1 (p=0.007). In squamous cell carcinoma, SHH significantly correlated with GLI2 protein expression (p=0.003). After multiple testing correction, there was no significant correlation between any of the six markers and RFS or OS. CONCLUSIONS: Key downstream components of the HHSP show correlation with sonic hedgehog ligand (SHH) expression, suggesting that ligand-dependent signaling is more prevalent in primary NSCLC tumors. Surprisingly, in early-stage NSCLC, there were no significant correlations between HHSP proteins or ALDH1A1 and RFS or OS.

Long-term results for minor column allografts in revision hip arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: While acetabular structural allografts provide an important alternative for reconstructions, concerns remain with long-term graft resorption, collapse, and failure. Midterm studies of minor column (shelf) allograft suggest reasonable survival but long-term survival is unknown. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: We therefore assessed long-term graft/cup survivorship, functional scores, radiographic resorption, and complications associated with minor column allograft. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 74 patients (85 hips) with a mean age of 54 years (range, 28-83 years) undergoing acetabular cup revision using a minor column allograft. A minor column allograft was used in uncontained acetabular bone defects sized between 30% and 50% of the acetabulum. Graft failure was considered to occur when the graft required revision with another graft, metal augment, reconstruction cage, or excision arthroplasty. The minimum followup was 5 years (mean, 16 years; range, 5.3-25 years). RESULTS: Twenty-three patients (27 hips) had rerevision for all causes at a mean time to rerevision of 6.9 years (range, 0.1-23). Fifteen grafts failed at a mean time-to-rerevision of 6.1 years (range, 0.5-23.2). The 15- and 20-year Kaplan-Meier survivorships were 61% and 55% for cups and 78% for grafts with rerevision for all causes as end point. With rerevision for aseptic loosening as end point, survivorships were 67% and 61% for cups and 81% for grafts. The mean modified Harris hip scores were 41 (range, 20-60) preoperatively, 73 (range, 40-95) at 1 year postoperatively and 73 (range, 26-93) at last followup. CONCLUSION: The data may provide a long-term benchmark by which future treatments for Type III defects can be measured.

Constraining the phase of Bs-Bs mixing.

New physics contributions to Bs-Bs mixing can be parametrized by the size (rs2) and the phase (2thetas) of the total mixing amplitude relative to the standard model amplitude. The phase has so far been unconstrained. We first use the D0 measurement of the semileptonic CP asymmetry ASL to obtain the first constraint on the semileptonic CP asymmetry in Bs decays, ASLs=-0.008+/-0.011. Then we combine recent measurements by the CDF and D0 Collaborations--the mass difference (DeltaMs), the width difference (DeltaGammas), and ASL;s--to constrain 2thetas. The errors on DeltaGammas and ASL;s should still be reduced to have a sensitive probe of the phase, yet the central values are such that the regions around 2thetas approximately 3pi/2 and, in particular, 2thetas approximately pi/2, are disfavored.