Treating symptomatic flexible flatfoot deformities. a novel technique: comparison of uc berkeley laboratory foot orthosis with and without kinesio taping in juvenil athletes.

PURPOSE: Symptomatic flexible pes planus (SFPP) can cause pain and discomfort when walking or engaging in sportive activities in children and adolescents. SFPP can be treated conservatively with foot orthoses, such as the University of California Berkeley Laboratory (UCBL) foot orthosis, which can improve foot function and reduce pain. Kinesio Tape (KT) has also been used as an adjunct to foot orthoses in the treatment of pes planus. This study aims to compare the effectiveness of the UCBL foot orthosis with and without KT in the treatment of SFPP among amateur juvenile and adolescent athletes. METHODS: Fifty patients with SFPP were included in the study. In 27 patients UCBL foot orthosis with KT (group 1) was used whereas in 23 UCBL (group 2) was preferred only. The patients were evaluated with AOFAS and radiological measurements. RESULTS: The mean follow-up period was 28.6 ± 4.3(26) months. At the final follow-up AOFAS of group 1 was significantly higher than group 2. In group 2, 12 patients (%52,17) had pressure sores that caused superficial dermabrasion. Lateral TFMAs and talocalcaneal angle in group 1 was significantly better than group 2. CONCLUSIONS: This study attempted to determine if using KT with the UCBL foot orthosis was beneficial to the treatment of SFPP compared to simply wearing the orthosis. Our results suggest that KT is effective in reducing pronation and improving the AOFAS score. The use of UCBL with KT seems to be preferable in children and adolescents with SFPP since it is associated with a lower rate of complication, a higher degree of patient compliance and faster improvement in the radiological and clinical findings, compared to the use of the UCBL orthosis alone.

Extensor mechanism ruptures.

Native patellar tendon injuries are seen in younger patients compared to quadriceps tendon ruptures. Up to a third of the patients may have local (antecedent tendinopathy and cortisone injections) or systemic risk factors (obesity, diabetes, hyperparathyroidism, chronic renal failure, fluoroquinolone or statin use) of injury, these are more frequent in bilateral disruptions. Complete extensor mechanism disruptions should be repaired surgically. Although isolated primary repair has been reported to have good outcomes in younger patients with acute tears and good tendon quality, augmentation of the repair with autograft, allograft or synthetic material should be considered in patients with poor tendon quality, chronic tears or tendon defects. High rates of return to work/sports have been reported in native patellar and quadriceps tendon tears, with re-rupture rates <5%. Extensor mechanism disruptions in patients with a total knee arthroplasty are challenging due to older age, systemic co-morbidities and poor local conditions, resulting in inferior outcomes compared to native extensor mechanism injuries. Some form of augmentation with autograft, allograft or synthetics is advisable in all cases. Salvage procedures such as whole extensor mechanism allografts provide acceptable outcomes in multiply operated knees with extensive bone and soft tissue deficits.

Surgical management of displaced adolescent Tillaux Fractures with the mini-open technique.

BACKGROUND: There is no consensus on the optimal treatment of Tillaux-Chaput fractures. The results of our cases treated with mini-open surgery (open reduction and internal fixation) concerning efficacy and complications, we aim to compare other procedures (open, percutaneous, and arthroscopy-assisted) with the literature data and to look for an answer to the question of whether the primary treatment can be mini-open surgery. METHODS: Between the years 2014 and 2017, 22 of 30 patients with Tillaux-Chaput fractures were treated using mini-open surgery, open reduction and internal fixation with one cannulated screw. These cases were retrospectively examined concerning age, sex, side, surgery duration, complications, and American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Score (AOFAS). Functional results were statistically evaluated 12 months after the injury. Follow-up included a clinical examination, imaging and AOFAS. RESULTS: Of the patients, 14 were male (63.6%) and eight were female (36.4%). The mean age of the patients was 13.8 years. The mean surgery duration was 21 minutes. All fractures healed after an average of 14 weeks. No complications were observed in any of the cases. The mean follow-up time was 24.7 months. The mean preoperative AOFAS score was 53.3 and the mean postoperative AOFAS score was 93.6, which was a statistically significant difference. At the last follow-up, the AOFAS score was perfect for all cases. CONCLUSION: Contrary to what is stated in the literature, the mini-open surgical procedure has many advantages. The operation is very short and the risk of nerve injury is very low. This study showed that Tillaux-Chaput fractures could be safely and efficiently treated with mini-open surgery. We recommend mini-open surgery, complete anatomical reduction, and internal fixation for successful results.