Giovanni Pignatti

Clear cell chondrosarcoma of bone - A report of 8 cases

We report 8 cases of clear cell chondrosarcoma from 350 cases of chondrosarcoma (2.2%) seen at Istituto Rizzoli. The lesion is always low grade in nature and occurs in an epiphyseal location, usually in the proximal femur or humerus. This relatively inaccessible location may hinder the exact diagnosis. Wide resection is the treatment of choice, although 3 of our patients underwent intralesional or marginal procedures. At present all patients are free of disease. However, a longer follow-up is essential because of the slow-growing nature of this sarcoma.

Anterior extraoral surgery to the upper cervical spine.

Study Design A series of 10 patients surgically treated with prevascular or retrovascular extraoral retropharyngeal approach to the upper cervical spine is examined. Objectives In orthopedic surgery, retropharyngeal approach may replace the transoral surgery, obviating the risks of infection and the uncomfortable postoperative course of cases in which median labiomandibular glossotomy was used to accomplish complex bone reconstruction. Summary of the Background Data The transoral approach is reported in literature as the classical anterior access to the upper cervical spine that provides direct exposure for anterior decompression of the spinal cord. The risks, the surgical limits, and the postoperative difficulties of transmucosal access suggest the use of an anterior extraoral retropharyngeal approach in orthopedic surgery. Methods The series includes four neoplastic lesions (osteoma, aneurismal bone cyst, giant cell tumor, solitary metastasis), three retropharyngeal ossifications resulting from diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis, and a single case of os odontoideum, craniocervical malformation, and postlaminectomy kyphosis. Results At follow‐up evaluation, all patients achieved a satisfactory outcome, with good clinical and radiographic results; nasotracheal intubation obviated the need for tracheostomy. The wide surgical exposure allowed reconstruction with iliac strut bone grafts and internal fixation in six patients, avoiding the need of a halo device. The only complications were four instances of transient palsies of the marginal mandibular branch of the facial nerve. Conclusions In the anterior surgery of the upper cervical spine, the prevascular approach allows a wide surgical exposure, with visualization similar to that obtained with median labiomandibular glossotomy. The retrovascular approach is indicated in selected cases, such as tumor adjacent to the vertebral artery and C1‐C2 arthrodesis with bilateral transarticular screws according to Barbour.

Two Stage Hip Revision in Periprosthetic Infection: Results of 41 Cases

Background: two-stage revision is considered the best treatment approach for the eradication of chronic joint infection. We report the outcome of 41 consecutive patients with infected hip prostheses, treated between 2000 and 2005, with two-stage revision using an antibiotic-loaded cement spacer. Methods: Patients underwent a treatment protocol which included clinical and radiographic evaluation, laboratory investigations, hip aspiration, 99mTc-MDP and 99mTc-leukocyte-labeled scintigraphy and intraoperative assessment. All patients were diagnosed with a late chronic infection and classified as B-host according to the Cierny-Mader classification system. 9 patients out of 41 (22%) required a second interim treatment period, with exchange of the spacer. The proportion of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus was similar between the one-spacer group and two-spacer group (28% vs 33%), whereas the proportion of patients with three or more risk factors was significantly higher in the two-spacer group than in the one-spacer group (28% vs 55%, respectively). Results: Forty patients had final reimplantation, one patient had a resection arthroplasty. At an average follow-up of 5.3 years no recurrence of infection occurred. The average post-operative Harris hip score improved from 41 to 80. Conclusions: In the treatment of two-stage revision arthroplasty the adherence to the protocol proved to be effective for infection eradication and final reimplantation.

Case report 590

The authors present the case of a patient 54 years of age who developed well-defined osteolysis in the distal end of the humerus, with a slight radiodensity in the soft tissue. The radionuclide scintigram and above all the CT, were useful in defining the characteristics and expansion of the mass more precisely. Surgical intervention and histological examination demonstrated a seemingly unique case of PVNS of the elbow with diffuse cartilaginous components and erosion of the distal end of the humerus. The pathological findings in this unusual case, actually suggested the possibility of an intermediate form of PVNS associated with synovial chondromatosis.

Telangiectatic osteogenic sarcoma of the extremities : results in 17 patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy

Seventeen patients with telangiectatic osteogenic sarcoma (TOS) of the extremities were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, according to two different protocols. Preoperatively, the patients received high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) and cisplatinum (CPD) (HD-MTX/CPD) and doxorubicin. CPD was delivered intraarterially, the other drugs intravenously. Limb-salvage surgery was performed in 12 instances, and five patients were treated with amputation. Postoperative chemotherapy was tailored according to the grade of chemotherapy-induced necrosis. In 13 cases (86%), the resultant grade of necrosis was greater than 90% (good responders). The mean follow-up interval was 3.5 years with a range of 18 to 78 months. Fourteen patients (82%) remained continuously disease-free, while three patients developed lung metastases. Two of these died because of uncontrolled disease, whereas the third patient is alive and disease-free after metastasectomy. No local recurrences were observed. These results are better than those observed in 215 contemporary cases of conventional osteosarcoma treated with the same protocols. This study confirms that TOS is not a uniformly lethal tumor as suggested by prior reports. By employing neoadjuvant chemotherapy, a high percentage of patients with TOS can be cured, and in most of them, a limb-sparing surgery is possible and safe.

Is Treatment With Dithiothreitol More Effective Than Sonication for the Diagnosis of Prosthetic Joint Infection

Background Prosthetic joint infection (PJI) is among the most-severe complications of a total joint arthroplasty. Identification of the causal organism is of paramount importance for successful treatment, and sonication of implants may aid in this identification. Dithiothreitol (DTT) treatment has been proposed as an alternative to sonication to improve diagnosis, reduce costs, and improve reliability of the procedure, but its efficacy remains poorly characterized. Questions/purposes (1) Are DTT and sonication more sensitive and/or more specific than standard cultures of tissue samples for the diagnosis of PJI? (2) Which test (DTT or sonication) is more sensitive when the clinician does not suspect infection before surgery? (3) Which test (DTT or sonication) is more sensitive when the clinician suspects infection before surgery? Methods Two hundred thirty-two patients undergoing revision of a knee or hip arthroplasty were prospectively evaluated in this randomized study. Cultures were performed on five tissue samples from each patient and on fluid obtained by prosthesis treatment in patients randomly assigned to sonication (117 patients) or DTT (115 patients). The reference standard against which cultures (on tissue samples and on fluids from sonication or DTT) were compared was the Musculoskeletal Infection Society definition of PJI. Results Cultures on sonication and DTT fluids provided higher sensitivity (89% and 91%, respectively) than those on standard cultures of tissue samples (79%; p < 0.001). Among patients in whom infection was not suspected before surgery, the sensitivity of DTT was greater than that for sonication and cultures on tissue samples (100% versus 70% and 50%; p < 0.001). Among patients in whom infection was suspected before surgery, the sensitivity of DTT and sonication were not greater than that for standard cultures (89% and 94% versus 86%). Conclusions In this randomized study, we found no difference in sensitivity between DTT and sonication for the detection of PJI, and both of those tests were more sensitive than standard tissue cultures. Thus, cultures of sonication or DTT fluid should be considered important additional tools to standard cultures for definition of PJI and should be considered together with other criteria, especially in settings where infection is not suspected before revision surgery. Level of Evidence Level I, diagnostic study.

Lumbar intraspinal mucous cyst: case report

Abstract We report a case of an intraspinal mucous cyst, or ganglionic cyst, that irritated the fifth nerve root on the left in a patient who had previously undergone L4-L5 discectomy due to lumbosciatica. After a few months of complete well-being, the patient complained of the return of sciantica in the L5 region. Clinically, it looked like the recurrence of disc hernia, however, tests showed the presence of an extradural ganglionic cyst adjacent to the left joint facet between lumbar vertebrae IV and V. This lesion was not seen using radiography or computed tomography prior to discectomy. Surgical excision of the lesion was followed by rapid and full remission of the clinical symptoms. Histological tests confirmed the diagnosis of ganglion cyst.