Impact of 3D Printed Calcaneal Models on Fracture Understanding and Confidence in Orthopedic Surgery Residents.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if three-dimensionally printed (3Dp) fracture models can improve orthopedic trainee education. DESIGN: A prospective comparison study of orthopedic trainees and attending surgeons was performed, where a range of calcaneal fractures were used for creating anonymized 3Dp models. Study participants rotated through workstations viewing computed tomography images and either a digital 3D volume rendering or 3Dp model of the fractured calcaneus. Diagnosis, time for evaluation, confidence of fracture understanding, perceived model accuracy, and proposed treatment were compared using a standardized questionnaire. PARTICIPANTS: Sixteen resident trainees and 5 attending surgeons participated in this study. Attending surgeons were required to have fellowship training in trauma or foot and ankle surgery and manage calcaneal fractures as part of their current practice. RESULTS: Junior residents had the slowest time of assessment (mean = 121 ± 54 seconds) and lowest percentage of correct diagnoses (69%), although these findings did not reach significance compared to the other residency years. Residents displayed higher levels of confidence in fracture understanding with increasing residency year of training (p < 0.0001), and this confidence was greater for cases that included a 3Dp model (p < 0.03). Perceived accuracy of cases with 3Dp models was significantly higher than cases without 3Dp models (7.0 vs 5.5 p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study found that 3Dp models increase the perceived accuracy of fracture assessment, though no statistically significant improvement in diagnostic accuracy was observed. The 3Dp models did improve trainee confidence, although this effect diminished with increasing residency year. In orthopedic residency training programs, 3Dp models of complex fractures can be a valuable educational tool, especially for junior trainees.

Development of a simple multidisciplinary arthroplasty wound-assessment instrument: the SMArt Wound Tool

Background: There are currently no validated instruments in the orthopedic literature for assessing the healing of acute surgical wounds. The creation of a simple wound-assessment tool would provide a standardized method of reporting wound outcomes. The objective of this study was to systematically develop a wound-assessment tool that can be used to assess the early healing of arthroplasty incisions. Methods: The databases MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane reviews and CINAHL were searched. Articles that described objective assessment of acute incisional wounds were included. Items for the wound-assessment tool were then extracted from eligible studies based on the frequency of reporting. A multidisciplinary panel of wound experts compiled the items into an initial tool to assess key domains of wound healing. The items were reduced through several iterations of panel discussion. Results: Our search strategy yielded 3743 results, which were screened by title and abstract. Thirty-four studies were included in the systematic review for the development of the wound-assessment tool, and 10 domains were extracted based on frequency of reporting. After item reduction, the final version of the wound-assessment tool, the SMArt Wound Tool, contained 3 major domains: blistering, peri-incisional skin colour and exudate type. Conclusion: There is currently a need for a standardized tool to assess the healing of orthopedic surgical incisions. The SMArt Wound Tool provides a simple, objective method of assessing arthroplasty incisions for the presence of early complications.

Contexte: Il n'existe actuellement aucun instrument validé dans la littérature orthopédique pour évaluer la cicatrisation des plaies chirurgicales récentes. La création d'un outil d'évaluation simple des plaies offrirait une méthode standard pour suivre leur évolution. L'objectif de cette étude était de concevoir un outil d'évaluation systématique des plaies pouvant être utilisé pour vérifier la bonne cicatrisation des incisions d'arthroplastie. Méthodes: Les bases de données MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, le registre central Cochrane des essais contrôlés et la base de données Cochrane des revues systématiques ont été interrogés. Les articles qui décrivaient une évaluation objective des plaies d'incision récentes ont été inclus. Les paramètres d'évaluation des plaies ont ensuite été extraits à partir des études retenues en fonction de la fréquence à laquelle ils étaient rapportés. Un comité multidisciplinaire d'experts des plaies a compilé les paramètres pour créer un outil initial d'évaluation des domaines clés de la cicatrisation des plaies. Des discussions successives du comité ont ensuite permis de réduire le nombre de paramètres d'évaluation. Résultats: Notre stratégie d'interrogation a généré 3743 résultats qui ont été triés par titre et résumé. Trente-quatre études ont été retenues pour la revue systématique en vue de la création de l'outil d'évaluation des plaies et 10 domaines ont été extraits en fonction de la fréquence à laquelle ils étaient rapportés. Après la réduction du nombre de paramètres, la version finale de l'outil d'évaluation des plaies, appelé SMArt Wound Tool, comprenait 3 domaines principaux : formation de vésicules, couleur de la peau au pourtour de l'incision et type d'exsudat. Conclusion: On déplore actuellement l'absence d'outils standards pour évaluer la cicatrisation des plaies en chirurgie orthopédique. L'outil SMArt offre une méthode simple et objective d'évaluation des incisions d'arthroplastie pour déceler rapidement la moindre complication, le cas échéant.

The Effect of Synovectomy in Total Knee Arthroplasty for Primary Osteoarthritis: A Meta-Analysis.

The objective of this study is to assess pain, function, and morbidity in patients undergoing synovectomy during primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) for osteoarthritis (OA). A meta-analysis, which included randomized controlled trials comparing TKA with and without synovectomy for OA, was completed. The primary outcome was postoperative knee pain. Secondary outcomes included performance, perioperative complications, validated functional scores, operation length, and hospitalization length. A literature search produced 487 unique references, of which 3 randomized controlled trials were selected for inclusion. A total of 304 patients (354 knees) were included, with an average age of 67 years. Follow-up intervals between studies ranged from 26 weeks to 12 months. Included studies were of moderate- to high-quality evidence with low risk of bias. There was no significant difference between the two groups in regard to postoperative pain, Knee Society Score, or postoperative range of motion. Postoperative blood loss was significantly lower in synovium-retaining TKA group (MD = 99.41 mL; 95% confidence interval, 45.08-153.75). Based on these results, there is currently no evidence to support the use of synovectomy in TKA for primary OA, as it provides no clinical benefit and increases postoperative blood loss.