End-stage Ankle Arthritis Treated by Ankle Arthrodesis with Screw Fixation Through the Transfibular Approach: A Retrospective Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical outcome of ankle arthrodesis with screw fixation through the transfibular approach for end-stage ankle arthritis. METHODS: Data of 22 patients (28 ankles) with end-stage ankle arthritis admitted to the Department of Orthopedics and Surgery of the First Hospital of Jilin University from May 2015 to December 2018 were analyzed retrospectively. The study included 9 men and 13 women, with a mean age of 56.86 ± 11.27 years (range, 37-75 years). The mean duration of the disease was 11.36 ± 12.80 years (range, 3 months-50 years). A total of 16 patients had posttraumatic arthritis, 5 patients had osteoarthritis, and 1 patient had rheumatoid arthritis. There were 12 cases of the left ankle and 16 cases of the right ankle; 16 cases were unilateral and 6 were bilateral. The same surgical procedure was applied to all patients. Collected data included the operation time, intraoperative and postoperative blood loss, hospitalization time, bone union rate, time to bone union, and complications. The American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle hindfoot score and the visual analogue scale (VAS) were used to evaluate the preoperative status and the postoperative outcome at the last follow up. RESULTS: The mean follow-up period was 26.14 ± 10.99 months. The mean operation time was 101.82 ± 33.33 min. The mean blood loss was 116.78 ± 68.86 mL during the procedure and 111.07 ± 52.18 mL after the procedure. The mean hospitalization time was 14.22 ± 5.42 days. Bone union of the ankle joint was achieved in all patients. The mean time to bone union was 14.83 ± 2.14 weeks. There was significant difference in the operation time between the patients undergoing unilateral and bilateral ankle arthrodesis. The AOFAS ankle hindfoot score increased from the preoperative value of 43.46 ± 4.39 points to 80.39 ± 5.37 points at the last follow up. During the same interval, the VAS score improved from 6.14 ± 0.80 points to 1.64 ± 0.73 points. The AOFAS ankle hindfoot score of patients who underwent unilateral ankle arthrodesis improved from the preoperative 43.19 ± 3.95 points to 81.75 ± 5.23 points at the last follow up, and the VAS score improved from 6.19 ± 0.83 points to 1.69 ± 0.70 points. The AOFAS ankle hindfoot score of patients undergoing bilateral ankle arthrodesis improved from the preoperative value of 43.83 ± 5.08 points to 78.67 ± 5.05 points at the last follow up, while the VAS score improved from 6.08 ± 0.82 points to 1.58 ± 0.79 points. There was significant difference in the maximum walking distance and walking on any surface between the patients undergoing unilateral and bilateral ankle arthrodesis. One patient developed superficial peroneal nerve palsy, which resolved within 1 year after the operation. In another patient, healing of the incision skin was delayed. During the follow-up period, none of the patients developed an infection of the incision or local skin necrosis; screw loosening, withdrawal, or breakage did not occur in any patient. CONCLUSION: The ankle arthrodesis with screw fixation through the transfibular approach provides satisfactory clinical outcomes for end-stage ankle arthritis.

Progress in the treatment of osteoarthritis with umbilical cord stem cells.

Osteoarthritis is a chronic degenerative joint disease with an incidence of 81% among people aged over 65 years in China. Osteoarthritis significantly decreases the quality of life of patients, causing physical and psychological damage and posing a serious economic burden. Clinical treatments for osteoarthritis include drug and surgical treatments. Drug treatment can successfully alleviate pain but not satisfactorily reverse joint damage, while surgical intervention is typically used to treat end-stage disease. Stem cells are multi-potential progenitor cells with self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation abilities, and can differentiate into many kinds of cells, including chondrocytes. Umbilical cord stem cells, also known as Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSCs), have become the first choice for cartilage regeneration engineering owing to their availability and convenience of collection. This article reviews the biological characterization of WJ-MSCs in recent years, their advantages compared with other stem cells, and their application in the treatment of osteoarthritis in animal experiments and clinical trials.

Primary lymphoma of the tibia in children: Two case reports.

RATIONALE: Primary lymphoma of the bones (PLB) is a rare extranodal non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) that is particularly rare in children. The clinical presentation and radiological features of PLB are often nonspecific, making clinical diagnosis challenging and misdiagnosis frequent. Here, we report 2 children with PLB focusing on clinical presentation, differential diagnosis, and treatment outcomes. PATIENTS CONCERNS: A 9-year-old boy presented with left knee swelling and pain for 4 months after a fall. He was previously misdiagnosed with traumatic soft tissue injury. The second patient was an 11-year-old boy with a 6-month history of intermittent left knee pain. He was previously misdiagnosed with bone tuberculosis and chronic osteomyelitis. DIAGNOSES: A 9-year-old boy showed an abnormal signal of the left tibia metaphysis, diaphysis, and epiphysis, and tibia with periosteal reactions and surrounding soft tissue swelling. Tumor biopsy and immunohistochemistry confirmed a diagnosis of B-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma.An 11-year-old boy showed a permeative lesion in the metaphysis and diaphysis of the left proximal tibia. Tumor biopsy and immunohistochemistry confirmed the diagnosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. INTERVENTIONS: Both patients were treated with 6 courses of NHL-Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster-95. OUTCOMES: Both patients are in complete clinical remission with a follow-up of 27 and 18months after treatment, respectively. LESSONS: PLB is a rare malignancy that is difficult to diagnose, particularly in children. Clinicians should increase the awareness of the disease and consider a differential diagnosis of bone lesions. Chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy is a favorable treatment for children with PLB. Early diagnosis and active treatment can improve patient prognosis.

[Expanded curettage and bone cement filling combined with internal fixation for the treatment of Campanacci III giant cell tumour of knee joint].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate clinical effects of expanded curettage and bone cement filling combined with internal fixation in treating Campanacci III giant cell tumor of knee joint. METHODS: From January 2006 to December 2016, 21 patients with Campanacci III giant cell tumor of knee joint were treated by expanded curettage and bone cement filling combined with internal fixation, including 11 males and 10 females with an average age of(35.24±10.56) years old (ranged from 21 to 61 years old). The courses of disease ranged from 1.5 to 24.0 months with an average of(8.1±4.4) months. Among them, 8 patients were distal femur and 13 patients were proximal tibia. All patients were primary tumors. Musculoskeletal Tumor Society(MSTS) scores were used to evaluate lower limb function before and after operation. X-ray was used to observe healing of lesions and the occurrence of adverse reactions. RESULTS: All incisions were healed at grade A without complications such as infection and internal fixation failure. All patients were followed up from 8 to 56 months with an average of (29.62±9.48) months. MSTS score at the latest follow-up 26.71±2.35 was higher than that of before operation 15.24±1.14, and had statistical significance(t=20.160, P=0.000). The results of X-ray at final following-up showed internal fixation was well, and no loosening and fracture of subchondral bone. Three patients recurred giant cell tumor and replaced with tumor prosthesis. CONCLUSIONS: Expanded curettage and bone cement filling with internal fixation for the treatment of Campanacci III giant cell tumor of knee joint could effectively retain limb function and reduce tumor recurrence rate.

Primary clear cell sarcoma of the calcaneus : Report of a rare case and review of the literature.

Clear cell sarcoma (CCS) is a rare soft tissue tumor derived from neural crest cells. It accounts for 1% of all soft tissue sarcomas and usually involves the tendons and aponeuroses in the distal ends of the extremities. The foot and the ankle are the most common primary sites. A CCS predominantly occurs in young adults and has rarely been reported in children and older people. On magnetic resonance imaging the tumor has a benign appearance. It appears isointense, hypointense or slightly hyperintense on T1-weighted images. A CCS is typically strongly positive for HMB-45, S­100, melanA, MITF and vimentin on immunohistochemical investigations and exhibits the t(12;22)(q13;q12) translocation on cytogenetic studies. Metastasis occurs mainly to the regional lymph nodes. A tumor size ≥5 cm is invariably associated with a poor prognosis. The main treatment is wide excision but local recurrence and distant metastases are common. This article presents the case of a 61-year-old man with right ankle tenderness and malaise. Ultrasound-guided biopsy and pathological examination were performed and the pathological diagnosis was a CCS. The patient underwent a below-knee amputation and had no local recurrence or metastasis at the 6­month follow-up.

[Research progress of drug-loaded antibacterial coating of orthopedic metal implants].

Objective: To investigate the research progress of drug-loaded antibacterial coating of orthopedic metal implants in recent years. Methods: The recent literature on the drug-loaded antibacterial coating of orthopedic metal implants were reviewed. The research status, classification, and development trend of drug-loaded antibacterial coating were summarized. Results: The drug-loaded antibacterial coating of orthopedic metal implants can be divided into passive release type and active release type according to the mode of drug release. Passive drug release coating can release the drug continuously regardless of whether the presence of bacteria around the implants. Active drug release coating do not release the drug unless the presence of bacteria around the implants. Conclusion: The sustained and stable release of drugs is a key problem to be solved in various antibacterial coatings research. The intelligent antibacterial coating which release antibiotics only in the presence of bacteria is the future direction of development.