Pieter-Jan Vandekerckhove

Reversed arthroscopic subacromial decompression for symptomatic irreparable rotator cuff tears: mid-term follow-up results in 34 shoulders.

BACKGROUND In the elderly, there is no guideline for the treatment of irreparable rotator cuff lesions. The results of open or arthroscopic repair are variable. We hypothesized that the use of a reversed arthroscopic subacromial decompression (RASD) would yield comparable results. MATERIAL AND METHODS Between January 2004 and December 2006, thirty-eight patients underwent a RASD for irreparable cuff tears in 39 shoulders. The surgical procedure consisted of a tenotomy of the long head of the biceps tendon, a debridement of the torn rotator cuff and a tuberoplasty, without violation of the coracoacromial arch and the acromion. RESULTS Thirty-three patients (age 69.9 +/- 7.3 years) were available for clinical and radiological evaluation of 34 shoulders (male/female ratio: 11/22), at a mean follow-up of 38 months (range: 21 months-52 months). Two of 33 patients had required revision surgery, and were excluded from further statistical analysis. In the remaining 31 patients (32 shoulders), the modified Constant-Murley score (CMS) improved from 34.9% +/- 11.6 to 84.0% +/- 11.6 (p < 0.0001). The preoperative mobility did not correlate with the final result. Preoperative pain was found to correlate negatively to the modified CMS at follow-up (p= 0.0038). Although the acromiohumeral height decreased with 2.58 mm +/- 1.68 and the severity of glenohumeral osteoarthritis increased with one grade (Samilson-Prieto classification), there was no correlation with the functional outcome. CONCLUSION We conclude that for irreparable rotator cuff tears in the elderly, excellent mid-term results can be achieved with a RASD.

The relationship between constitutional alignment and varus osteoarthritis of the knee

AbstractPurpose The role of neutral alignment in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) on short- and long-term outcomes has become controversial. Based on the concept of constitutional varus, it has been suggested that under-correction in TKA in a varus osteoarthritis (OA) population might lead to better clinical outcomes. However, it is still unknown what the relationship between constitutional varus and the development of end-stage OA is. The goal of this study was to analyse the contribution of constitutional varus in a medial OA population and to define a correlation between the constitutional alignment and end-stage varus OA.MethodsBased on full-length radiographs, corrected for the intra-articular deformity of the knee, of 315 patients with unilateral end-stage medial OA of the knee (Charnley type A), a correlation in the coronal plane was made between medial end-stage OA and the contralateral non-arthritic side.ResultsWith increasing varus alignment in the arthritic limb, the physiologic limb alignment also became more varus. The proportion of constitutional varus rose with increasing overall alignment and was found to be continuous for males. Constitutional varus was three times higher in men when the overall arthritic alignment was greater more than 6° varus.ConclusionConstitutional varus significantly contributes to varus osteoarthritis and was found to be higher than in the general population.Level of evidenceIII.

The Impact of Coronal Plane Alignment on Polyethylene Wear and Damage in Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Retrieval Study

BACKGROUND Coronal plane alignment is one of the contributing factors to polyethylene wear in total knee arthroplasty. METHODS Based on 95 retrieved polyethylene inserts, wear and damage patterns were analyzed in relationship to the overall mechanical alignment and to the position of the tibial component. RESULTS A progression of wear was observed with progressively mechanical varus alignment. However, there was significantly more damage in the lateral compartment in the mild and moderate varus group compared to the valgus group. No difference in damage was seen between all groups for tibial component positioning in valgus or varus. CONCLUSION Progressive wear was observed with progressively varus alignment with more damage at the lateral side. This observation is unique and might be explained by lateral condylar lift-off inducing impact and shear loading in the varus group.

The Impact of Wear and Lift-Off on Coronal Plane Alignment in TKA and Implications to Future Constrained Revision: A Retrieval Study

Current discussion exists whether to position a total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in slight undercorrection in varus osteoarthritis. The goal of this study was to analyse the effect of wear and lateral lift-off in primary TKA on coronal plane alignment and the implication to future constrained revision TKA. Seventy-six retrieved tibial inserts were analysed for the ratio of wear (RW), lateral lift-off and implications for future constrained revision surgery according to the coronal plane alignment. The RW significantly affects the coronal plane alignment in TKA. Progressive wear and lateral lift-off were seen with progressive varus alignment. However, there was no difference in constrained revision between mild varus and moderate varus aligned TKAs.

The impact of residual varus alignment following total knee arthroplasty on patient outcome scores in a constitutional varus population

BACKGROUND Following a total knee arthroplasty (TKA), restoration of the mechanical axis of the lower limb to a neutral position of 0° ± 3° is generally considered the standard of care. Little is known, however, regarding the impact of realignment defined according to the patients physiologic anatomy on clinical outcome scores. METHODS The study included 67 knees with a mean age of 65.9 ± 8.3 years with unilateral osteoarthritis (OA) who underwent a primary unilateral TKA for medial end-stage OA. Patients were categorized based on post-operative limb alignment in one of two ways, either based on alignment relative to their contralateral, physiologic side (physiologic), or alignment relative to a neutral axis (neutral). Knee Society Score (KSS), Western Ontario & McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and the 12-Item Short Form Survey (SF-12) were compared between the two groups. RESULTS WOMAC Total and subscale scores improved for both groups between the pre- and post-operative time points. SF-12 scores were comparable post-operatively between the groups. WOMAC and KSS total and subscale scores were slightly greater post-operatively in the group not aligned according to their physiologic anatomy (neutral). However, none of these differences reached a level of significance. CONCLUSION Post-operatively, residual varus and neutral limb alignment lead to comparable clinical outcome scores. In a constitutional varus population with medial end-stage OA, aligning the lower limb during a TKA to a neutral position rather than the patients native anatomy does not negatively impact self-reported patient outcome scores at the one and two-year time points.

Standard versus physiologic bone preparation in total knee arthroplasty and the effect on joint space opening

Background: Total knee arthroplasty is an effective treatment for osteoarthritis. Restoration of physiologic varus alignment may restore the native soft tissue tension and improve outcomes. Methods: Six paired fresh‐frozen knee specimens were used to perform total knee arthroplastys. The left and right sides of were randomly assigned to have either a physiologic alignment cut or a standard of care neutral alignment bony cut prior to the implantation. Loads of 100 and 200 N were applied at 0, 30, 60, and 90° of flexion and the magnitude of the medial and lateral compartment distraction was measured. The loads were applied with the knee specimen intact and post arthroplasty. Findings: The physiologic alignment had no difference between medial and lateral gaps at either load. With 100 N of load the physiologic alignment had a greater gap at 90° than at full extension while the standard alignment had significantly more gap at 60° of flexion than full extension. The physiologic alignment had a significantly greater gap with the implant compared to the intact condition at both loads. The standard alignment had no significant difference in overall gap between the implant and intact condition with any load. Interpretation: Although performing a physiologic aligned TKA resulted in medial‐lateral soft tissue balance, the flexion gap was found to have greater magnitude than the intact knee. Notably, a neutral aligned TKA was found to be balanced, but also was found to recreate the intact knee flexion gaps. These results suggest that coronal plane stability can be achieved with physiologic alignment objectives, but the clinician needs to be aware of the potential to have greater laxity than the intact and neutral alignment surgical objectives. HIGHLIGHTSCurrent total knee arthroplasty bone preparation methods may result in anatomical imbalances.Instability following a total knee arthroplasty is a common problem resulting in revision.Restoring physiologic varus may reinstate native soft tissue tension.Physiological preparation increases tissue release and leads to greater distraction.