Alexandre Pedro Nicolini

Common injuries in athletes' knee: experience of a specialized center

OBJECTIVE: The present cross-sectional study aims to identify the most common knee injuries in athletes cared at a Specialized Outpatient Clinics. METHOD: Analysis of patients cared at the Knee Outpatient Clinics of a Sports Trauma Center, divided by gender, age and diagnosed injury. RESULTS: Initially 440 patients were divided into 33 types of sports; after excluding the less statistically significant practices, nine sports remained. The most frequently performed sports were football with almost 50% of total patients presenting anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, and road runs with great frequency of meniscal injury. There was no correlation of the disorder with the type of sports performed but a correlation was found with patients age/gender. CONCLUSION: The complete ACL rupture was the most common injury found in football, basketball and volleyball players, followed by meniscal injury in street runners. Level of Evidence IV, Study Transversal.

Updates in biological therapies for knee injuries: full thickness cartilage defect

Full thickness cartilage defect might occur at different ages, but a focal defect is a major concern in the knee of young athletes. It causes impairment and does not heal by itself. Several techniques were described to treat symptomatic full thickness cartilage defect. Recently, several advances were described on the known techniques of microfracture, osteochondral allograft, cell therapy, and others. This article brings an update of current literature on these well-described techniques for full thickness cartilage defect.

Síndrome compartimental em perna após reconstrução de ligamento cruzado anterior: relato de caso

The authors report a case of a patient that was submitted to a surgery of reconstruction of anterior cruciate ligament and collateral medial ligament repair of the left knee that complicated to a compartment syndrome.

Tratamento das fraturas da diáfise dos ossos do antebraço em crianças e adolescentes

Objective: The treatment and the angular deviations tolerated in diaphyseal forearm fractures in children evoke divergent opinions in literature. In view of this controversy, we idealized this study to evaluate the preferred treatment methods for this injury, during the 39th Brazilian Congress on Orthopedics and Traumatology. Methods: A total 759 questionnaires were answered (13% of total entrants). We addressed the general aspects of the study sample to obtain a profile of the orthopedic surgeons questioned. Results: Two clinical subjects were presented, aged 12 (CASE 1) and 5 years old (CASE 2), along with radiographs depicting forearm diaphyseal fractures of these patients. Data was gathered and submitted to statistical analysis. The overall preferred treatment in CASE 1 was closed reduction and fixation with Kirschner wires (26%), while in case 2 it was closed reduction followed by plaster cast (46%). Conclusion: Among orthopedic surgeons less than 30 years old, the choice for less invasive treatments and greater acceptance of angular values prevailed in both cases. The traumatologists accepted lower angular values and tended towards more invasive treatments, particularly for CASE 2. On the other hand, the pediatric orthopedic surgeon prefers less invasive treatments and accepts greater angular deviations.

Simultaneous bilateral tibial tubercle avulsion fracture in a male teenager: case report and literature review.

Tibial tuberosity avulsion fractures are injuries accounting for less than 3% of all epiphyseal and 1% of all physeal injuries in adolescents. Bilateral injuries are very rare, with only 19 cases described in the literature. These types of fractures occur commonly in male teenagers during sport activities and are often associated with other orthopaedic disorders. We report the case of a male teenager with simultaneous bilateral tibial tubercle fractures, describe the evolution and treatment of this injury and review the literature on this subject. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Case report.

Avaliação funcional da reconstrução do ligamento patelofemoral medial em atletas

Objective  The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical results, functional outcomes, and risk factors after anatomic reconstructions using knee flexor grafts in athletes. Methods  The authors followed-up 32 patients and 34 knees for 1 year in a prospective design case series evaluating pre- and postoperative functional scores (Kujala and Lysholm) and associated risk factors. Results  All of the 32 patients had a significant increase of the Lysholm and Kujala scores. Patients with < 5 preoperative dislocations had a better score on the Lysholm and Kujala scales. The mean preoperative Lysholm score was 62.8, and the mean postoperative score was 94.3. The mean preoperative Kujala score was 63.0, and the mean postoperative score was 94.0. Conclusion  Medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction with hamstring graft in athletes with patellar instability improved clinical and functional scores. The bone drilling through the patella and the positioning of the femoral tunnel should be judiciously performed.

Ultrasonography for evaluation of hamstring tendon diameter: is it possible to predict the size of the graft?

Objective Perform the preoperative measurement of the hamstring tendons using ultrasound imaging, validating and correlating the measured value with that found during surgical reconstruction of the ligament. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out with 24 patients who underwent ultrasonographic measurement of the semitendinosus and gracilis muscle tendons and were subsequently submitted to surgical reconstruction of the ACL, with ipsilateral semitendinosus and gracilis tendon grafting. Results The patients’ ages ranged from 16 to 43 years, with a mean of 24.8 years (SD = 8.4 years), 79.2% were men, and the distribution by side was 41.7% right knees and 58.3% left knees. A non-significant correlation coefficient was found between the area calculated by ultrasound (2 × semitendinosus area + 2 × gracilis area) and the intraoperative measurement (r = 0.16; p = 0.443). No evidence of a difference between intraoperative measurements <8 mm and ≥8 mm was found for the area calculated by the ultrasound (p = 0.746). The difference observed between the groups was −0.01 (95% CI: −0.09 to 0.07). Conclusion Preoperative ultrasound imaging of the semitendinosus and gracilis tendons does not present a statistically significant correlation with the intraoperative measurement of the quadruple hamstring graft for ligament reconstruction.

Higher Gene Expression of Healing Factors in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Remnant in Acute Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tear

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with remnant preservation has been described and related to potential advantages. Literature is lacking regarding gene expression of potential factors related to ligament healing in the ACL remnant and its relation to time from injury. Hypothesis: The mRNA expression of ligament healing factors in the ACL remnant would be higher in acute tears (<3 months from injury) than in intermediate (3-12 months) and chronic (>12 months) injuries. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: Gene expression of 21 genes related to ligament healing factors was analyzed in 46 ACL remnants biopsied during surgical reconstruction with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction technique. Specimens were divided into 3 groups according to time from injury: acute (<3 months from injury; n = 19), intermediate (3-12 months; n = 12), and chronic (>12 months; n = 15). Histological and immunohistochemical evaluation was performed by analysis of hematoxylin and eosin, CD-34, and S-100 staining. Results: Expression of COL1A1, COL1A2, COL3A1, COL5A1, COL5A2, COL12A1, LOX, PLOD1, and TNC genes in ACL remnant was greater in acute compared with chronic injuries. COL1A1, COL5A1, COL12A1, and TNC genes were also expressed more in the acute group compared with the intermediate group. Furthermore, expression of the genes COL1A1 and COL5A2 was significantly higher in female than in male patients. No difference in the number of blood vessels and mechanoreceptors among groups was observed in the microscopic evaluation. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that expression of COL1A1, COL1A2, COL3A1, COL5A1, COL5A2, COL12A1, LOX, PLOD1, and TNC genes in ACL remnant is greater in acute (<3 months from injury) compared with chronic (>12 months) injuries. Furthermore, COL1A1, COL5A1, COL12A1, and TNC genes were expressed more in the acute group compared with the intermediate group (3-12 months from injury). Clinical Relevance: ACL reconstructions with remnant preservation should be performed in patients with acute injuries, as in these cases the ACL remnant may present the greatest healing potential.

Bilateral osteochondritis dissecans of the knee in a basketball player: case report

The authors report a case of bilateral osteochondritis dissecans in a 17-year-old basketball player who was diagnosed and treated as shown in the literature.

Osteocondrite dissecante bilateral de joelho em jogador de basquetebol: relato de caso

The authors report a case of bilateral osteochondritis dissecans in a 17-year-old basketball player who was diagnosed and treated as shown in the literature.