The Role of Surveillance in Predicting Fracture in Pediatric Patients With Incidentally Discovered Nonossifying Fibromas and Fibrous Cortical Defects: Is It Worth It?

BACKGROUND: Nonossifying fibroma (NOF) and fibrous cortical defect (FCDs), the most common benign pediatric bone lesions, are usually incidental x-ray findings. Surveillance of characteristic lesions has been recommended to monitor for enlargement and assess fracture risk. However, no accepted fracture risk prediction guidelines exist, so indications for prophylactic surgery are unclear. The study's purposes were to (1) characterize the timing of NOF/FCD-associated fractures, (2) quantify the resources devoted to surveillance, and (3) evaluate the potential for surveillance to prevent pathologic fracture. METHODS: A single institution retrospective review was conducted to identify pediatric patients (below 18 y old) with clinical-radiographic documentation of an NOF or FCD diagnosis from 2012 to 2020. Patients who presented with fracture were tallied but excluded from the surveillance analysis. Patients without at least one follow-up visit were also excluded. Lesional radiographic features were characterized on initial imaging. The number of visits and imaging studies devoted to surveillance were tabulated. The number of fractures and prophylactic surgeries were recorded to quantify the potential of surveillance to prevent pathologic fractures. RESULTS: The study population presenting without fracture consisted of 301 patients with 364 lesions with a mean follow-up of 20 months. By contrast, over the same period, 38 patients presented with NOF/FCD associated pathologic fractures. Surveillance included 1037 additional imaging tests over 1311 follow-up visits, or on average, 3.4 imaging studies and 4.4 visits per patient. During surveillance, only 2 (0.55%) lesions fractured. Another 10/364 (2.8%) patients underwent curettage and grafting, suggesting that-at best-the potential for preventing pathologic fracture by surveillance, assuming all 10 patients who underwent surgery would have subsequently fractured along with the 2 documented fractures, is 3.3% of lesions (12/364). CONCLUSIONS: The small number of fractures and surgeries during the follow-up period probably does not justify additional resources for surveillance beyond the initial visit, except in symptomatic patients with large lesions. However, subsequent visits may play a role in educating patients and their families regarding the natural history of these lesions. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic Level II-retrospective study.

Examining Preoperative MRI for Medial Meniscal Ramp Lesions in Patients Surgically Treated for Acute Grade 3 Combined Posterolateral Corner Knee Injury.

Background: While medial meniscocapsular tears (ramp lesions) are commonly associated with isolated anterior cruciate ligament injuries, there are limited descriptions of these meniscal injuries in multiligament knee injuries (MLKIs). Purpose: To (1) retrospectively evaluate preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans for the presence of ramp lesions in patients surgically treated for acute grade 3 combined posterolateral corner (PLC) knee injuries and (2) determine if a preoperative posteromedial tibial plateau (PMTP) bone bruise is associated with the presence of preoperative ramp lesions on MRI in these same patients. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Data on consecutive patients at a level 1 trauma center with MLKIs between 2001 and 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. Only patients with acute grade 3 combined PLC injuries who received an MRI scan within 30 days of injury were assessed. Two musculoskeletal radiologists retrospectively reviewed each patient's preoperative MRI for evidence of ramp lesions and bone bruises. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to calculate reliability among the reviewers. Multivariate analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between PMTP bruising and the presence of a ramp lesion on MRI. Results: A total of 68 patients (79.4% male; mean age, 33.8 ± 13.7 years) with an acute grade 3 combined PLC injury were included in the study. On MRI, the ICCs for detection of ramp lesions and PMTP bone bruising were 0.921 and 0.938, respectively. Medial meniscal ramp lesions were diagnosed in 18 of 68 (26.5%) patients. Eleven of 18 (61.1%) patients with ramp lesions also showed evidence of PMTP bruising, while 13 of 50 (26.0%) patients without ramp lesions had PMTP bruising (P = .008). When controlling for age and sex, PTMP bruising was significantly associated with the presence of a ramp lesion in combined PLC injuries (odds ratio, 4.62; P = .012). Conclusion: Preoperative medial meniscal ramp lesions were diagnosed on MRI in 26.5% of patients with acute grade 3 combined PLC injuries. PMTP bone bruising was significantly associated with the presence of a ramp lesion on MRI. These findings reinforce the need to assess for potential ramp lesions at the time of multiligament reconstruction.

Repair of Acute Grade 3 Combined Posterolateral Corner Avulsion Injuries Using an Enhanced Fixation Technique.

Background: Previous studies have suggested that surgical repair of the posterolateral corner (PLC) may be inferior to reconstruction. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that acute repair (<3 weeks) of avulsion-type PLC multiligament knee injuries with no midsubstance injury would lead to lower failure rates than previously reported for PLC repair. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: A total of 28 patients with multiligament knee injuries who underwent acute repair between January 2007 and June 2018 of a PLC avulsion injury with no evidence of midsubstance tearing were included. All PLC avulsion injuries were treated using a transosseous Krackow suture pull-through technique without graft augmentation. Outcome metrics included lateral joint-space widening with varus stress, patient-reported clinical varus instability, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), and any subsequent revision or salvage procedure. Results: The mean time from injury to repair was 8.1 ± 5 days. At a mean follow-up of 2 years (range, 3-90 months), clinical varus stress examination at 30° demonstrated a significant reduction in lateral compartment opening, from 9 ± 3 mm preoperatively to 0 ± 3 mm (P < .0001). The failure rate was calculated to be 10.7% (3/28), which was significantly lower than the failure rate from a 2016 systematic review (38%, 17/45; P = .015). Of the 28 patients, 21 (75%) had PROM scores. Patients who underwent staged bi-cruciate reconstructions (n = 5) had significantly higher subjective International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) (87.2 vs 65.5; P = .014) and Lysholm (90.5 vs 75.2; P = .029) scores compared to patients with untreated bi-cruciate injuries (n = 9). Patients with peroneal nerve injury (n = 4) had significantly lower IKDC (58.2 vs 80.8; P = .0045) and Tegner (3.2 vs 5.4; P = .047) scores than those without peroneal nerve injury (n = 17). The mean IKDC and Lysholm scores at final follow-up were 73.4 ± 24.0 and 80.8 ± 23.1 at 7.1 years (range, 2.3-10.6 years) of follow-up. Conclusion: Repair of acute grade 3 combined PLC avulsion injuries using a transosseous Krackow suture pull-through technique demonstrated a failure rate of 10.7%. Patients who underwent a staged cruciate reconstruction(s) had higher subjective outcome scores than those who had cruciate injuries left untreated. Peroneal nerve injury was associated with lower outcome scores.