Aims

Arthroscopic microfracture is a conventional form of treatment for patients with osteochondritis of the talus, involving an area of < 1.5 cm². However, some patients have persistent pain and limitation of movement in the early postoperative period. No studies have investigated the combined treatment of microfracture and shortwave treatment in these patients. The aim of this prospective single-centre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was to compare the outcome in patients treated with arthroscopic microfracture combined with radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy (rESWT) and arthroscopic microfracture alone, in patients with ostechondritis of the talus.

Aims

Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) participates in various processes, such as the enhancement of immunity and inhibition of tumours. APS can affect osteoporosis (OP) by regulating the osteogenic differentiation of human bone mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs). This study was designed to elucidate the mechanism of APS in hBMSC proliferation and osteoblast differentiation.

Aims

The aim of our study is to investigate the effect induced by alternated mechanical loading on Notch-1 in mandibular condylar cartilage (MCC) of growing rabbits.

Objectives

Prosthetic joint infection (PJI) diagnosis is a major challenge in orthopaedics, and no reliable parameters have been established for accurate, preoperative predictions in the differential diagnosis of aseptic loosening or PJI. This study surveyed factors in synovial fluid (SF) for improving PJI diagnosis.

Background

The reductions of perioperative blood loss and inflammatory response are important in total knee arthroplasty. Tranexamic acid reduced blood loss and the inflammatory response in several studies. However, the effect of epinephrine administration plus tranexamic acid has not been intensively investigated, to our knowledge. In this study, we evaluated whether the combined administration of low-dose epinephrine plus tranexamic acid reduced perioperative blood loss or inflammatory response further compared with tranexamic acid alone.

Aims

Cervical spondylosis is often accompanied by dizziness. It has recently been shown that the ingrowth of Ruffini corpuscles into diseased cervical discs may be related to cervicogenic dizziness. In order to evaluate whether cervicogenic dizziness stems from the diseased cervical disc, we performed a prospective cohort study to assess the effectiveness of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion on the relief of dizziness.

In this study, a biomimetic triphasic scaffold was constructed to mimic the native cartilage-subchondral bone tissue structure. This scaffold contained chondral layer, calcified zone of cartilage (CZC) and subchondral bone layer. The chondral layer was type II collagen sponge, the CZC and the subchondral bone layer were derived from normal pig knee by decellularization. In order to build separate microenvironment for chondral layer and subchondral bone layer, a dual-chamber bioreactor was designed by computer aided design, manufactured by 3D printer using Poly Lactic Acid, with CZC as the barrier of these two chambers. Culture medium in these two chambers was circulated separately by peristaltic pumps. Amniotic mesenchymal stem cells were seeded in this scaffold, fluorescence labeling was used for cell tracking, total DNA content analysis was used to indicate cell proliferation, and inducing medium was used to direct stem cells differentiation. After 7 days culture, the cells regularly distributed in the scaffold, cell adhesion and proliferation was not affected. No cell migration across CZC occurred. Total DNA content analysis showed that cells in scaffold increased in a time-dependent manner. Chondrogenic and osteogenic medium could induce stem cells in these two chambers to differentiate into chondrocytes and osteocytes, respectively. Our pilot study showed that the dual-chamber culture system with biomimetic triphasic scaffold was feasible, therefore this system will be further modified and tested in vivo.

Articular cartilage repair remains a challenge in orthopedic surgery, as none of the current clinical therapies can regenerate the functional hyaline cartilage tissue. In this study, we proposed a one-step surgery strategy that uses autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) embedded in type II collagen (Col-II) gels to repair the full thickness chondral defects in minipig models. Briefly, 8 mm full thickness chondral defects were created in both knees separately, one knee received Col-II + MSCs transplantation, while the untreated knee served as control. At 1, 3 and 6 months postoperatively, the animals were sacrificed, regenerated tissue was evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging, macro- and microscopic observation, and histological analysis. Results showed that regenerated tissue in Col-II + MSCs transplantation group exhibited significantly better structure compared with that in control group, in terms of cell distribution, smoothness of surface, adjacent tissue integration, Col-II content, structure of calcified layer and subchondral bone. With the regeneration of hyaline-like cartilage tissue, this one step strategy has the potential to be translated into clinical application.

Summary

A retrospective study on 98 patients shows that FE-based bone strength from CT data (using validated FE models) is a suitable candidate to discriminate fractured versus controls within a clinical cohort.

Introduction

Subtle variations in hip morphology associate with risk of hip osteoarthritis (OA). However, validated accurate methods to quantitate hip morphology using plain radiography are lacking. We have developed a Matlab-based software-tool (SHIPs) that measures 19 OA-associated morphological-parameters of the hip using a PACS pelvic radiograph. In this study we evaluated the accuracy and repeatability of the method.

Fine-wire fixators are a powerful tool in the management of acute fractures, non-unions, mal-unions and limb lengthening. The tension in the wires is very important in achieving stiffness of the whole fixator construct and current guidelines suggests tensioning wires to 900-1275N. There is evidence that during long term use the tension in the wires can reduce significantly. The effects of a reduction in tension on the fixator stiffness has been well characterised however the effect on the stresses imparted on the bone at the interface with the wire remain unknown. The main aim of this study was to identify any relationship between wire tension and wire-bone interface pressure.

An experimental system utilizing artificial cancellous bone mounted on a tensioned 2mm wire and then loaded by a material testing machine was employed. Pressure sensitive film allowed determination of interface stresses. The experiment was repeated at wire tensions of 600, 900 and 1200N. All other variables were kept the same during testing.

The highest pressures were found closest to the wire. At 1200N the peak pressures were 6-8 MPa, at 900N of tension the pressures rose to 8-10 MPa and at 600N pressures up to 14 MPa were observed. Deeper in the bone the pressures observed at 600N tension were double that seen at 1200N.

This is the first characterisation of the relationship between interface pressure and wire tension in fine-wire fixators. At 1200N the highest pressures are less than the compressive yield strength of cancellous bone whereas at both 600 and 900N pressures are greater than the yield which may lead to loosening. We therefore conclude that a tension of 1200N be employed when applying fine-wire fixators and during long term treatments the tensions should be regularly monitored to prevent loss of tension.

Introduction: Circular fixators are widely utilised in orthopaedic surgery. Their biomechanical characteristics have been studied in some detail and it is known that the widest wire crossing angles yield maximum stability. Unfortunately, due to anatomical constraints, mechanically optimum wire crossing angles are seldom achievable, especially in the tibial diaphysis. Narrowed crossing angles are usually accepted thereby compromising sagittal plane bending stability. With a hybrid circular fixator, narrowed crossing angles exacerbate the problem of fracture site shear. It is hypothesised that by minimising slippage at the wire-bone interface by using threaded wires, stability can be maintained even with narrowed crossing angles. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of threaded wires on fracture site shear with a hybrid fixator.

Method: Bone-fixator models were created from nylon rods and the Orthofix Ring Fixator. Constructs with wire crossing angles of 70, 60, 45 and 30 degrees were loaded axially and in four point bending. Each construct was tested four times; the first test was not analysed. The whole fixator was then rebuilt and all tests repeated. Fracture motion (compression, angulation & shear) was measured using a strain gauge intersegmentary motion device and stiffness calculated by linear regression. Smooth & threaded wires were compared by univariate analysis of variance, which makes allowance for variation between individual frames.

Results: Axial stiffness was comparable to previous studies (85–96N/mm) with no difference between wire types. Threaded wires produced a 29% reduction in shear during axial compression (p=0.02). In four-point-bending, angulation stiffness (in the half-pin plane) was directly related to crossing angle and at all angles threaded wires were associated with a significant improvement. The table shows the effect of wire type on shear (in mm) measured in the plane of the half-pins for a 10Nm bending moment. Shear becomes appreciably higher with narrow crossing angles (almost 2mm) but this is effectively controlled by threaded wires.

Discussion: Of all the factors influencing fracture healing, the mechanical environment is one over which the surgeon has most control. It is generally accepted that excessive shear inhibits fracture healing. This study has shown that by using threaded wires in a circular frame, crossing angles can be narrowed without compromising stability. in particular they control undesirable shear motion seen with hybrid frames and narrow crossing angles. The principle is equally applicable to all-wire frames as they invariably are constructed with compromised crossing angles leading to reduced sagittal plane stability.

Fine-wire fixator systems have been used successfully for the treatment of fractures, malunions and for limb lengthening for many years. There has been much research investigating the biomechanical properties of these systems but this has been almost entirely centred on the mechanical properties of the fixator as a whole. Our knowledge of the interactions occurring at the interface between wire and bone remains sparse. To this end we devised an experimental model to analyse the distribution of pressure in cancellous bone surrounding a tensioned wire under loading conditions. The Sawbones cancellous bone material (type 1522-11) was cut into 65x30x40 mm blocks. A 2 mm olive wire was inserted into each block, parallel to the surface and along the 65 mm dimension. The distance from the wire to the surface was variable, from 0.5mm to 5mm in a 0.5mm increment. The wire was mounted on a 150 mm ring and tensioned to 1200 N against a load cell. The ring was rigidly mounted on a material testing machine and a second bone block was incorporated into the testing machine crosshead with a universal joint. Three grades of pressure-sensitive films (Low, Superlow and Ultralow) were sandwiched in turn between the testing block and cross head. The force applied was 175 N for 5 s. The developed film was scanned into a computer and a Matlab program was developed to analyse the pressure image. The results show three phases of pressure distribution. Very close to the wire there is a polar distribution of pressure that is, the pressure is concentrated towards the entry and exit points of the wire. At a depth of 1.5mm away from the wire the pressure becomes evenly distributed along the path of the wire in a beam-loading manner. At a distance of greater than 4mm from the wire there is even distribution of pressure throughout the bone. The peak pressures (6–8 MPa) were found closest to the wire. Most of the pressure measured was less than 1 MPa, which is less than the yield strength of cancellous bone (2–7 MPa, Li and Aspden, 1997). In contrast a similar analysis using threaded half pins under the same conditions showed far higher peak pressures (20 MPa), which were present deeper in the bone specimen. The pressure was concentrated toward the pin entry site and was not well distributed throughout the pin-bone interface. These results allow us to explain why ring fixators are superior to half pin fixators when used in metaphyseal bone.

Objective: To compare the mechanical stability of fixation of bicondylar tibial plateau fractures using available internal and external fixation techniques.

Method: A bicondylar tibial plateau fracture was simulated on a uniform synthetic bone and tested with loading to failure. Following power calculations, seven tibias were used for each fixation method; five types of fixation were tested: 1) Dual plating. 2) Ring Fixator with inter-fragmentary screws. 3) Hybrid fixator (Ring-Bar) with interfragmentary screws. 4) Lateral plate and medial monolateral external fixator. 5) Lateral plate and medial interfragmentary screws. The specimens were tested in compression to failure. The vertical subsidence in either medial or lateral plateau was measured using an electrical transducer.

Results: In all cases the mode of failure was consistent with collapse occurring in the medial plateau. There was no significant difference in the ultimate strength between dual plating and the ring fixator [4218N, 4184N respectively; P=0.28, t test]. Failure was seen at lower loads with the other fixation systems (Table).

Conclusion: The Ring Fixator and dual plating demonstrated a greater strength and the most stable fixation, choice may depend on tissue viability and surgeon preference. Furthermore mobilisation of the patient may be undertaken earlier with more confidence using these two methods rather than less stable techniques.

Aims: To identify the distraction forces and contact pressures of the ankle joint at two different joint positions during articulated ankle distraction.

Material and Methods: Four amputated lower limbs were collected from patients undergoing amputation for vascular disease and frozen at -70° C. The ankle joint of the specimens were normal. Before use the limbs were thawed at room temperature for 24 hours. The skin and subcutaneous tissues were removed. A Sheffield ring fixator consisting of a proximal tibial ring and a foot plate connected through three threaded bars and hinges aligned with ankle axis was mounted on the limb. Force transducers were placed in the threaded bars between the tibial ring and the foot plate on the lateral, medial and posterior aspect of the ankle joint to measure the ankle distraction forces. Once the ankle distraction forces have been measured an anterior ankle arthrotomy was performed to permit the insertion of Fuji pressure sensitive film within the ankle joint. The limb-fixator construct was mounted in a loading machine and axially loaded on the tibia. The ankle joint was distracted at 2 mm intervals to a maximum of 20 mm. Pressure sensitive film was introduced in the ankle joint at each distraction interval and the tibia was axially loaded at 350, 700, 1050 and 1400N (half to two times body weight).

Results: The forces necessary to distract the ankle joint are almost double in the medial side than the lateral side. With 10° of plantarflexion the forces necessary to distract the lateral side increase by about 10%.

We found the center of pressure of the ankle joint to be situated in the antero-medial quadrant, close to the center of the ankle joint. Distraction of the ankle joint by 5 mm eliminated any contact pressures at the ankle joint when the tibia was loaded up to 700N (one time body weight). When the joint was distracted by 10 mm no contact pressures were found in the ankle when loaded up to 1400N (two times body weight)

Conclusions: With the ankle in the plantigrade position the forces necessary to distract the ankle joint are double in the medial side when compared to the lateral side. Plantarflexion increases the forces necessary to distract the lateral aspect of the ankle. This finding may have clinical implications when distracting ankle joints with equinus deformities as this can increase the risk of damaging the lateral ankle ligaments leading to ankle instability. In our opinion equinus deformities should be corrected before the start of ankle joint distraction.

The center of pressure of the ankle joint is situated in the antero-medial quadrant. Distraction of 5 mm will eliminate ankle contact pressure up to one times body weight whereas distraction of 10 mm will eliminate contact pressures up to two times body weight.

Introduction: Distraction osteogenesis has been used as a method of generating new bone in limb lengthening and deformity realignment; and is achieved in our unit though the use of the Sheffield Ring Fixator. The development of soft tissue tension creates an entirely different mechanical environment, and can often result in severe complications during treatment. Fixators must therefore be able to resist these forces. Furthermore, biomechanical modelling is very different from fracture and bone gap simulation.

The model developed in this study intended to look at linear distraction, i.e. lengthening.

Aims: To create a mechanical model that simulates the soft tissue effects during lengthening with an external fixator

To obtain a synthetic material with similar passive tensile properties to that measured in lengthened soft tissue

To measure the effect of tensioned synthetic soft tissue on osteotomy motion and multi-planar stiffness during cyclic loading.

Materials and Methods: A standard two 150mm ring frame was mounted on an acrylic rod, with a centrally placed osteotomy gap of 75mm. One ring was fixed with wires and the other with screws. An inter-fragmentary motion device was attached across the osteotomy, to measure axial, angular and shear deformation with both axial and off-axis loading.

Soft tissue tension was simulated with the use of neoprene rubber sheeting, attached to the nylon rod by Jubilee clips, with a gap anteriorly or medially. Extensive tensile testing was performed to determine the visco-elastic behaviour of the rubber, which showed it to be consistent and reliable. Tension of a similar magnitude to lengthened muscle (35–125N) was achieved, and could be accurately predicted for certain distraction lengths.

The stiffness of the frame was calculated from osteotomy motion with various distraction lengths both with the rubber attached and without.

Results: Tension in the soft tissues summates with the force applied in loading, with the effect of increasing the axial stiffness of the fixator by up to 70N, with a directly proportional relationship. It also acts as a restraint for shear and angulatory motion. In anterior and lateral loading positions however, the angulation stiffness remains low; this is thought to be due to the unequal distribution of soft tissues around the bony column, as seen in vivo. The stiffness of the frame is lowered by increasing the distance between rings; this effect can be counteracted by soft tissue tension in axial stiffness, but less so for angular and shear.

Conclusions: We conclude that osteotomy stability is dependent on soft tissue tension, and the magnitude of tension greatly alters the stiffness characteristics of the external fixator. This study highlights the important role of soft tissue tension in biomechanical modelling and clinical limb lengthening, and has exciting ramifications for future orthopaedic models.

Background: The stability of fracture fixation is influenced by the type of fixation, densitometric and geometric structure of the bone. DXA measures the integral mass of trabecular and cortical bone mineral but cannot discriminate between the structurally and mechanically separate constitutes. Distribution and organisation of bone mass (the geometric structure) has the final determination of the mechanical properties of bone. Pq CT scan is able to measure densitometric and geometric parameters of bone structure. However, there are no reports in the literature on the relationship between these measurements and the strength of fracture fixation. Our aim is to study the correlation between geometric and densitometric measurements of Pq CT scan, with the strength of fixation of bicondylar tibial plateau fractures and to assess the role of both trabecular and cancellous bone in that strength.

Method: Eight Fresh frozen human cadaveric tibias were collected from subjects without a medical history of skeletal pathology. The proximal 10% of the tibia was scanned in a peripheral quantitative computer tomography scanner 1mm thick transverse slides, the cancellous and cortical bone mineral density of the proximal tibia were measured. The geometrical parameters: cortical area, trabecular area, bone strength index (BSI) and the Stress strain index (SSI) as non invasive indicators of the mechanical strength of the bone, were also calculated. A bicondylar tibial plateau fracture was simulated, stabilised, and then tested. All tibias were fixed with Dual buttress plating using a standard AO technique. Cyclic axial compression tests were performed. Inter-fragmentary shear displacements were measured using four extensometers. Failure was defined as over 3mm displacement.

Results: Except for the cortical density, there was a strong correlation between failure load and geometric and densitometric parameters. The trabecular density was the best predictor of fixation strength of tibial plateau fracture.

Discussion: Trabecular density is a more reliable parameter to measure than the cortical density. Therefore, the fixation strength of tibial plateau fracture is dominantly influenced by the mechanical properties of cancelous bone. Cortical bone has a secondary role.

These results highlight the importance of fixation techniques that rely on cancellous bone anchoring such as tensioned fine wire fixation in tibial plateau fractures.

Objectives: To develop a non-invasive method to assess the wire tension quantitatively which can be used in clinic.

Background: Fine-wire external fixators are widely used in the fixation of fractures and limb reconstruction. A requirement of stable fixation is that the wires maintain their tension. Recent lab tests have shown that substantial reduction in wire tension occurred during the simulated operative procedures. Clinical experience also indicated that wire site discomfort might be related to loss in wire tension. It would be very helpful if the wire tension could be assessed quantitatively by a non-invasive method.

Methods: An apparatus based on a LVDT (Linear Variable Differential Transformer) was developed to apply a constant transverse force to a wire and measure its deflection with respect to another parallel wire. An unstable oblique fracture was created in a Sawbones tibia and stabilized by a Sheffield Ring Fixator. The deflection of the testing wire was measured in four tests: (1) Two parallel wires fixation, tensioned reference wire, variable clamp to bone distance; (2) Two parallel wires fixation, loose reference wire, 80mm clamp-bone distance. (3) Two groups of parallel wires fixation with 70° crossing angle, tensioned reference wire, 80mm clamp-bone distance; (4) Two groups of parallel wires fixation with 70° crossing angle, tensioned reference wire, 80mm clamp-bone distance, osteotomy site fixed with a lag screw to simulate a stable fracture or a healing fracture. Fracture stiffness in the above conditions was derived from previous work. Stepwise multiple variable regression analyses were performed to determine the relationship between wire deflection and wire tension, clamp-bone distance, number of wires, reference wire tension, and fracture stiffness.

Results: The reference wire tension and fracture stiffness was excluded from the regression equation, indicating that they did not affect the wire deflection. The regression equation containing only the testing wire tension had an adjusted R-square value of 0.521, while the equation containing the testing wire tension and clamp-bone distance had the R-square values of 0.854. The addition of the number of wires to the regression equation resulted in a slight increase of the R-square value (0.862).

Conclusion: The wire deflection and the clamp-bone distance are the two most important factors that affect wire deflection. The measurement of wire deflection has the potential to predict wire tension and the effect of clamp-bone distance must be considered. Further work is required to refine the apparatus for clinical use.

Biomechanical studies involving all-wire and hybrid types of circular frame have shown that oblique tibial fractures remain unstable when they are loaded. We have assessed a range of techniques for enhancing the fixation of these fractures. Eight models were constructed using Sawbones tibiae and standard Sheffield ring fixators, to which six additional fixation techniques were applied sequentially.

The major component of displacement was shear along the obliquity of the fracture. This was the most sensitive to any change in the method of fixation. All additional fixation systems were found to reduce shear movement significantly, the most effective being push-pull wires and arched wires with a three-hole bend. Less effective systems included an additional half pin and arched wires with a shallower arc. Angled pins were more effective at reducing shear than transverse pins.

The choice of additional fixation should be made after consideration of both the amount of stability required and the practicalities of applying the method to a particular fracture.

Objective: To compare the mechanical stability of þxation of bicondylar tibial fractures using available internal and external þxation techniques. Method: A bicondylar tibial fracture was simulated on a uniform synthetic bone and tested with loading to failure. Following power calculations, seven tibias were used for each þxation method;þve types of þxation were tested: 1)Dual plating. 2)Ring Fixator with interfragmentary screws. 3)Hybrid þxator (Ring-Bar) with interfragmentary screws. 4)Lat-eral plate and medial monolateral external þxator. 5)Lateral plate and medial interfragmentary screws. The specimens were tested in compression to failure. The vertical subsidence in either medial or lateral plateau was measured using an electrical transducer. Results: In all cases the mode of failure was consistent with collapse occurring in the medial plateau. There was no signiþcant difference in the ultimate strength between dual plating and the ring þxator [4218N, 4184N respectively; P=0.28, t test]. Failure was seen at lower loads with the other þxation systems

Conclusion: The Ring Fixator and dual plating demonstrated a greater strength and the most stable þxation, choice may depend on tissue viability and surgeon preference. Furthermore mobilisation of the patient may be undertaken earlier with more conþdence using these two methods rather than less stable techniques.