Complications of metallic suture anchors in shoulder surgery: A report of 8 cases.

PURPOSE: Metallic suture anchors are widely used in open and arthroscopic operations about the shoulder. We report the cases of 8 patients who were referred to our institution with complications following shoulder surgery in which metallic suture anchors were used. TYPE OF STUDY: Retrospective case series. METHODS: There were 7 male patients and 1 female patient with an average age of 36 years (range, 18 to 76 years). The initial operation was open anterior reconstruction for anterior instability of the glenohumeral joint in 5 patients, open rotator cuff tear repair in 2 patients, and an open posterior capsular reconstruction for posterior instability in 1 patient. All patients were referred for evaluation after a failed index reconstructive procedure. RESULTS: On average, 5.5 suture anchors (range, 3 to 8) per shoulder were used. Of 4 patients undergoing reconstruction with glenoid anchors only, 3 patients had an extraosseously positioned device. In this subset of glenoid-sided reconstructions, when more than 3 anchors were used, at least 1 anchor was inserted in an extraosseous position. In 2 of 3 patients with isolated humeral anchors, there was evidence of migration over time (1 intra-articular, 2 bursal). Three patients (38%) developed severe articular damage that was directly caused by a loose or intra-articular metal suture anchor. One patient developed a wound infection after reconstructive surgery. In all 8 patients, the index procedure failed and required subsequent surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The use of metallic suture anchors about the shoulder is commonplace and useful, but, as with other hardware used about the shoulder, there are significant risks if the anchors are improperly placed or if the index procedure fails.

The often overlooked posterior dislocation of the shoulder.

Unlike most shoulder dislocations, the posterior dislocation is truly a diagnostic challenge to the treating physician because it may be missed more often than it is recognized. In fact, more than 60% of posterior dislocations are misdiagnosed initially by the treating orthopedic surgeon, and the correct diagnosis is often delayed for months or years. A history of seizures, electroshock, or a fall onto a flexed, adducted arm should alert the physician to the possibility of posterior dislocation. A careful physical examination with comparison to the unaffected arm must be performed with particular attention given to subtle posterior fullness and anterior flatness of the shoulder, along with a lack of external rotation and abduction. A radiographic trauma series made in the scapular plane must always be obtained in cases of shoulder trauma to rule out posterior dislocation. A computed tomographic scan may also be necessary. The correct diagnosis of this injury will facilitate proper orthopedic evaluation and treatment and will reduce the incidence of missed posterior shoulder dislocation and its associated morbidity.

Acute metastatic infection of a revision total hip arthroplasty with oral bacteria after noninvasive dental treatment.

The risk of hematogenous bacterial infection of a total joint prosthesis is currently considered to be greatest in the 2 years after arthroplasty or when the patient is chronically ill or immunocompromised, for dental treatments that are considered invasive, with a higher incidence of bacteremia. We report the case of a healthy man who had undergone revision hip arthroplasty 11 months previously and who developed acute signs of infection of the hip prosthesis with an oral organism 30 hours after supragingival dental cleaning, performed with the specific intention to be noninvasive, without antibiotic prophylaxis.

Neuropathic arthropathy of the shoulder.

We retrospectively reviewed the records of six men (seven shoulders) with neuropathic arthropathy of the shoulder who were referred to our shoulder service during a twenty-eight-year period (from 1969 through 1997). The etiology of the neuropathic condition was syringomyelia in five patients (six shoulders) and chronic alcoholism in one patient. Five patients (six shoulders) were initially misdiagnosed, and seven operative procedures that were unrelated to the etiology of the neuropathic condition were performed in four of these patients. Radiographs revealed destruction of the shoulder joint and marked resorption of the humeral head in all patients. Magnetic resonance images revealed a syrinx of the central cord in all of the patients except for the one who had chronic alcoholism.

A quantitative study of articular repair in the guinea pig.

This study examined the healing of articular defects, with and without carbon fiber implants, and the response of repair tissue to its interim removal in guinea pigs of different ages. These were investigated after the induction of full thickness articular cartilage defects in the patellar groove of skeletally mature and immature guinea pigs. To indicate its capacity for replacement after attrition, repair tissue occurring in untreated (control) and carbon fiber treated (experimental) defects was ablated after 8 weeks, and the animals were sacrificed after an additional 8 weeks. The repair tissue was studied quantitatively at gross and microscopic levels and qualitatively using scanning and transmission electron microscopic study. The principal findings were as follows. The initial formation of repair tissue was variable, but it occurred in most cases. Secondary repair tissue formation consistently occurred after excision. Age did not influence the degree of repair. Carbon fiber implants of the type used impaired healing of small full thickness articular cartilage defects, compared with no treatment. Microscopically, repair tissue contains five main cell types, each with a characteristic surrounding matrix. Intermediate forms also are found. These, together with four of the five main types comprise a morphologic continuum and fit readily into a proposed developmental sequence that may stem from the fibroblast.

An exploratory study of the pattern of consent for autopsy in a regional hospital setting.

A prospective study of the pattern of responses to requests for autopsy in a general surgical unit was performed. Information on the characteristics of the deceased, of the requestee and of the requester was documented in the case of 66 patients who died while in hospital. Permission to perform autopsy was not requested in 39 out of 66 cases and this was the most frequent contributory factor to the low rate of autopsy. Once a decision to grant or refuse autopsy is made by relatives of the deceased, the decision is unlikely to be reversed. Permission to perform autopsy was more likely to be sought when the deceased was male than when deceased was female. The relatives of patients who had recently undergone surgery were more likely to refuse permission for autopsy than were those of patients who had not had recent surgery.

Intraneural ganglion of the peroneal nerve: a case report.

Intraneural ganglion is a rare condition. We present a case of peroneal nerve palsy due to an intraneural ganglion of the peroneal nerve. Full recovery followed surgical decompression. Apparent idiopathic foot drop is an indication for exploration of the common peroneal nerve.

Perioperative creatine phosphokinase trends in elderly patients with hip fracture.

A prospective study of the serum levels of unfractionated creatine phosphokinase (CPK) in 69 consecutive elderly patients undergoing surgery for hip fracture is reported. Serum unfractionated CPK levels were measured on admission, on the evening following surgery and daily for the first five days post-operatively. All of the CPK levels measured on admission were within the normal range for this laboratory. A gradual rise in CPK levels followed surgery. On the evening following surgery 75% of values were greater than the upper limit of the normal reference range. The peak values were seen on day 1 post-operatively but 25% of values were still less than the reference maximum. A gradual decline was seen after this and at day 5 post operatively 50% of values were within the normal reference range. A single unfractionated CPK determination is not of diagnostic benefit in the post-operative period in elderly patients with hip fracture. However, patients with intracapsular and intertrochanteric fractures do not show elevation of unfractionated CPK levels prior to surgery.

Bilateral quadriceps tendon rupture--a case report.

The diagnosis of rupture of the quadriceps tendon is made relatively infrequently and bilateral simultaneous rupture is a rarity. We report a case of spontaneous bilateral rupture of the quadriceps tendon in a patient with documented chronic renal insufficiency and secondary hyperparathyroidism. A predisposing cause to the condition as obtained in this case, has been described in cases previously published in the literature.

Familial infantile oesophageal achalasia.

Oesophageal achalasia is uncommon in children and in its familial form it is a rarity. The presentation and management of two male siblings who presented with oesophageal achalasia as infants are reported. A high degree of consanguinity in the parents of the children existed, suggesting autosomal recessive transmission.

Starting laparoscopic cholecystectomy--the pig as a training model.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a reality and units must convert from open to endoscopic technique. To this end we have used the pig, whose biliary anatomy resembles the human, as a laboratory in vivo training model. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has been performed in 35 animals. Techniques of pneumoperitoneum, vision, manipulation, clipping, ligation, cutting, diathermy and gall bladder removal were quickly mastered. All surviving animals underwent postmortem examination after 4 weeks. Following this laboratory programme, laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the human was introduced and has been completed successfully in 70 cases.