Tyler J. Uppstrom

The tibial eminence fracture in skeletally immature patients.

Purpose of review Although tibial eminence fractures are uncommon, their importance cannot be overemphasized in skeletally immature patients because of the fractures close proximity to both the tibial physis as well as the attachment between the tibial eminence and the anterior cruciate ligament, the latter being a key component in maintaining knee stability. This review focuses on recent trends in treatment concepts and devices. Recent findings Recent literature on this topic addresses the existence of a variety of treatment modalities, but the majority of these articles analyzed a limited number of cases and insisted on the merits of their own methods. Nevertheless, some consensus has been reached regarding treatment direction and how much laxity should be considered acceptable. Summary Although the review failed to reveal a gold standard modality in treating tibial eminence fractures, most studies agreed on several issues. Displaced intra-articular fractures should be fixed operatively.

Epidemiology of Deep Surgical Site Infections After Pediatric Spinal Fusion Surgery

Study Design. Single-institution, retrospective case series. Objective. To determine whether the microbiology of deep surgical site infections (SSIs) after spinal fusion surgery for deformity has changed over the last decade at our institution. Summary of Background Data. SSI after pediatric spinal deformity surgery results in significantly increased patient morbidity and health care costs. Although risk factors are multifactorial, prophylactic and treatment antibiotic coverage is based in part on historical epidemiologic data, which may evolve over time. Methods. This study represents a retrospective review of clinical and microbiology records of patients less than 21 years old who underwent spinal deformity surgery at a single institution between 2000 and 2012. Patients were included who underwent index surgery at our institution and developed a deep SSI. Patients with growth-preserving spine constructs were excluded. Results. The overall incidence of deep SSI was 3.6% (39/1094). The incidence of deep SSI following primary surgery was 3.3% (34/1034) and 8.3% (5/60) following revision surgery. The incidence of deep SSI varied by primary diagnosis: idiopathic (1.0%), neuromuscular (14.3%), syndromic (5.3%), congenital (5.7%), and kyphosis (0.0%). The most common inciting pathogens were Staphylococcus epidermidis (26%), methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA, 18%), Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes; 18%), and Escherichia coli (18%). Sixteen of the 18 (89%) gram-negative infections occurred in neuromuscular patients (P = 0.006). Between 2000 and 2006 and between 2007 and 2012, MSSA occurred in 2/18 (11%) and 5/21 (24%) of cases (P = 0.41), methicillin-resistant S. aureus occurred in 1/18 (6%) and 3/21 (14%) (P = 0.61), and P. acnes occurred in 3/18 (17%) and 4/21 (19%) (P = 1.0). Conclusion. The epidemiology of deep SSI following spinal fusion for deformity in pediatric patients at our institution has not changed significantly during 13 years. Prophylactic antibiotic coverage for both gram-positive and gram-negative organisms may be indicated for patients with primary neuromuscular diagnoses. Level of Evidence: 4

Repeat surgery for recurrent low-grade gliomas should be standard of care

The importance of surgery and maximal extent of resection (EOR) is well established in primary low-grade glioma (LGG) management. However, the role of surgery in the management of recurrent LGG is less clear. A recent review on the management of recurrent LGG concluded there was insufficient evidence to recommend surgery. Here, we summarize the recent advances regarding the role of surgery, radiotherapy (RT) and chemotherapy in the management of recurrent LGG. There is increasing evidence to support maximal EOR for treating recurrent LGG, as it may improve progression free survival (PFS) after recurrence and overall survival (OS). Based on the studies presented in this review, we suggest that repeat surgery with maximal EOR should be standard of care for recurrent LGG treatment.

Classification and assessment of juvenile osteochondritis dissecans knee lesions.

Purpose of review Juvenile osteochondritis dissecans (JOCD) knee lesions are common abnormalities in adolescents and children, and have higher rates of spontaneous healing with nonoperative management compared to adult osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) lesions. Multiple classification and assessment systems have been established in order to help clinicians determine which lesions are amenable to nonoperative management. However, these assessments often use adult OCD classification systems of lesion stability, which have poor reliability in JOCD lesions. The purpose of this review is to assess these various classification systems proposed for JOCD lesions. Recent findings Although arthroscopy remains the gold standard for the definitive assessment of lesion stability, recent evidence suggests that MRI characteristics indicative of instability in adult OCD lesions are not applicable in determining JOCD lesion instability. In addition, the correlation between arthroscopic and MRI indications of instability is highly varied in these younger patients. Summary In order for the pediatric orthopedic surgeon to more accurately predict treatment outcomes in patients with JOCD knee lesions, further investigation into the radiographic characteristics specific to JOCD lesion instability and healing is warranted.

Radiographic Results and Complications of 3 Guided Growth Implants

Background: Temporary, implant-mediated hemiepiphysiodesis (ie, guided growth) is an effective and popular treatment method for lower extremity angular deformities. The purpose of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the safety profile of 3 different implants used to correct lower extremity angular deformities in pediatric patients. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed a consecutive series of pediatric patients with lower extremity angular deformities who underwent implant-mediated guided growth by 2 surgeons at our institution between 2004 and 2014. Implants were selected according to surgeon preference and included the Biomet peanut plate, Orthofix eight-plate, and Pega Medical hinge plate. Medical records and radiographs were reviewed to assess deformity correction, implant integrity, and complications. Results: During the study period, 115 plates (63 Biomet peanut plates, 30 Orthofix eight-plates, and 22 Pega Medical hinge plates) were implanted in 52 patients (24 males, 28 females). Average age at implantation was 11.7 years (12.3 y in males, 11.1 y in females). Average length of follow-up was 18.4 months. There was no significant difference in rate of deformity correction between the implant types (P=0.08). Three broken screws (2.6%) were observed, all of which involved cannulated screws in peanut plates. Four peanut plates (6.3%) had an implant-related complication: 3 broken screws and 1 screw pullout. Three eight-plates (10.0%) had screw pullout. No complications were observed within either the hinge plate or solid screw groups. Implant-related complications were significantly associated with increased body weight and cannulated screw use (P=0.02 and 0.03, respectively), but not bone age, sex, plate type, or rate of deformity correction. No deep infections, premature growth arrests, or plate breakages were observed. Conclusions: Implant-mediated guided growth is a safe technique for pediatric lower extremity angular deformity correction with a low complication rate. This study demonstrated that overweight patients had a significantly higher rate of implant-related complications. Screw breakages were only observed with cannulated screws in peanut plates. Thus, we recommend using solid, noncannulated screws in overweight children who are at an increased risk of implant failure. Level of Evidence: Level IV—retrospective case series.

Low Risk of Physeal Damage from a Medial Patellofemoral Ligament (MPFL) Reconstruction Technique that Uses an Epiphyseal Socket in Children

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess short-term distal femoral growth plate safety associated with femoral sockets for hamstring autograft fixation in pediatric MPFL reconstruction. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed a consecutive series of 31 patients (22 females, 9 males) that underwent MPFL reconstruction by one surgeon at a tertiary care academic medical center between 2008 and 2014. Study inclusion criteria consisted of patients who were skeletally immature at the time of surgery, who had greater than 1 year radiographic follow-up and who had a femoral socket introduced during their procedure. Femoral socket location was verified by intraoperative fluoroscopy. All patients received a post-operative x-ray and a clinical follow-up. For the 12 patients that obtained post-operative MRI, growth plate safety was assessed by examining the location of the femoral socket relative to the physis to rule out growth plate injury (Figure 1). Development of lower limb angular deformities or limb length discrepancies was evaluated by examining post-operative standing hip-to-ankle anteroposterior radiographs, patient records, and clinical assessments. Results: The average age at surgery of 13.0 years. The average length of radiographic follow-up was 1.5 years and the average length of clinical follow-up was 1.78 years. At most recent clinical follow-up, 90% (28/31) of patients reported no subsequent patellar dislocations in the treated knee. No patients showed evidence of an angular deformity or limb length discrepancy. Of the 12 patients with postoperative MRI, all showed femoral sockets positioned distal to the physis without growth plate disturbance. Conclusion: The use of an epiphyseal femoral socket for graft fixation presents minimal risk of physeal violation and ensures patellar stability in the majority of pediatric patients. We have demonstrated that using fluoroscopic assistance to place the femoral socket distal to the distal femoral physis is a reliable and safe method for avoiding physeal injury in children with patellar instability.

Sequential MRI Study of Graft Integrity and Signal Following Pediatric All-epiphyseal ACL Reconstruction: Does the “Sharp Turn” at the Socket of the Distal Femoral Aperture Matter?

Objectives: To analyze graft structure and signal with particular emphasis on the distal femoral socket aperture following all-epiphyseal ACLR using hamstring autografts with sequential MRI in skeletally immature athletes. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of 23 skeletally immature patients who underwent ACLR by the same surgical team at a tertiary center during 2011-2013. Athletes had at least two follow-up MRIs, the first MRI 6-12 months after surgery and the second MRI >18 months, were included. Exclusion criteria included those athletes with inMRI follow-up (6) or with a failure of their reconstructions (1). All athletes were treated with an arthroscopic all-inside, all-epiphyseal ACLR, using hamstring autograft, secured with adjustable loop cortical buttons on both tibia and femur. MRI images were analyzed independently and blinded by an orthopaedic surgery fellow and a musculoskeletal radiology fellow. Using a GE Functional Analysis Software, the signal intensity (SI) of the graft was measured in 5 different locations: 1) femoral tunnel, 2) intra-articular proximal turn, 3) midsubstance, 4) intra-articular distal turn, and 5) tibial tunnel. Values were normalized to cortical bone density. The amount of perigraft scarring and synovitis was analyzed. An intraclass correlation coefficient was used to quantify inter-rater reliability, non-parametric Wilcoxon test for perigraft scarring and synovitis, one-way ANOVA to test if significant differences of SI were seen between the different graft locations, and a 2-tailed student t-test for SI changes from 1st to 2nd MRI. Results: The study included 16 patients (5 girls and 11 boys), with an average age at surgery of 11.9 years (range 10-15). The first follow-up MRI was on average at 8.4 months (range 6-12 months), while the 2nd MRI was on average 30.7 months (range 18-40) after surgery. Intra-class correlation coefficients were above 0.7 for all measurements, indicating an excellent concordance between observers. Perigraft scarring tended to reduce with follow-up (p=0.057) though not significantly, while synovitis had a significant reduction over time (p=0.01). On average, normalized SI showed no significant differences between measurements taken in different regions of the graft (p=0.58). When comparing the graft SI from 1st to 2nd MRI, no significant differences were found in any of the locations: femoral tunnel (p=0.14), proximal turn (p=0.11), midsubstance (p=0,29), intra-articular distal (p=0.10), or tibial tunnel (p=0.15). All 16 athletes returned to their prior sport at the same level of performance without re-injury. Conclusion: ACL grafts in skeletally immature patients with all-epiphyseal reconstructions maintain a stable intensity signaling at long term MRI follow-up, with no significant signal reduction over time. Despite the sharp turn created at the distal femoral socket aperture in physeal-sparing reconstructions, no particular anatomic location of the graft presents significantly different signal intensity over others. This is the first sequential mri study in pediatric epiphyseal acl reconstructions demonstrating postoperative maintenance of graft integrity and graft signal.

Retrospective Cohort Study of 207 Cases of Osteochondritis Dissecans of the Knee: Risk Factors and Outcomes Associated with Surgical Treatment

Objectives: Describe the clinical characteristics, image findings, and outcomes of patients with juvenile osteochondritis dissecans (JOCD) of the knee. To our knowledge, this is the largest single-surgeon cohort of JOCD patients. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of knee JOCD patients assessed by a single pediatric orthopaedic surgeon at a tertiary care center between 2005-2015. All diagnoses were confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Patients with patellar dislocations or osteochondral fractures were excluded. Demographic data, sports played, comorbidities, surgical procedures, and clinical data were extracted from charts. Images were analyzed to identify the location and size of lesions. Chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests were used to compare discrete variables, and Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis tests to compare continuous variables between groups. P-values of <0.05 were considered significant. Results: Sample consisted of 180 patients (207 knees), 124 boys and 56 girls. Average age at diagnosis was 12.8 years (7.5-17.5). Majority were active in sports (80.8%), primary soccer (36.7%) and basketball (29.4%). JOCD was present bilaterally in 27 patients (15%), 14 knees had bifocal OCD (6.8%), and only 1 patient had bifocal lesions in both knees. Most common location was medial femoral condyle (56.3%) followed by lateral femoral condyle (23.1%), trochlea (11.4%), patella (9%), and tibia (0.5%). In the sagittal view, most common location was the middle third of the condyles (48.7%). Surgery was performed in 72 knees (34.8%), with an average age at surgery of 14.1 years (9.3-18.1). Bilateral JOCD was present in 13 surgical patients (18.8%), but only 3 patients had bilateral surgery. Two operative patients had bifocal JOCD (2.7%) and surgery on both lesions. Location distribution did not differ between surgical and non-surgical lesions. The average normalized area of non-surgical JOCD lesions was 6.8 (0.1-18), whereas surgical lesions averaged a significantly higher area of 7.7 (0.5-17) (p=0.023). Average BMI was 21.6 versus 20.2 for surgical and non-surgical patients, respectively, significantly higher for those who underwent surgery (p=0.002). Most common procedure was fixation with 1.6 mm bioabsorbable nails (54.2%), using an average of 4 nails (1-9). Only 2 cases were fixed using metallic headless screws. Other surgical treatments were drilling (13.9%), microfracture (13.9%), microfracture + fixation (6.9%), removal of loose body/chondroplasty (6.9%), and allograft transplantation (4.2%). Fixation was achieved all-arthroscopic in 43.1% of the cases, and 61.3% of the lesions that were fixed underwent curettage of the subchondral bone. Revision surgery was required in 14 knees (19.4%). The most common revision procedures were microfracture, removal of hardware, chondroplasty and allograft implantation, where some revisions had combined procedures. Most surgical patients had postoperative MRIs (55 knees), with an average radiological follow-up of 14.5 months (range 2.1-55.4). Conclusion: JOCD occurs more frequently in young adolescent athlete boys, affecting the middle third of the medial femoral condyle. In our cohort, 1/3 of the patients had surgery, where bigger lesions and higher BMI were risk factors for operative treatment. At short-term follow up, the success rate following surgery was above 80%.

Inter- and Intra-Rater Reliability of Predictive Models for the Non-Operative Healing Potential of Stable Juvenile Osteochondritis Dissecans (JOCD) Knee Lesions

Objectives: While juvenile osteochondritis dissecans (JOCD) lesions have greater healing potential than equivalent lesions in adults, only 50% of JOCD lesions demonstrate radiographic healing after 6 months of non-operative treatment. Krause et al. (2013) and Wall et al. (2008) have described models to predict a patients probability of healing with non-operative treatment based on patient and lesion characteristics. The Wall et al. nomogram incorporates normalized lesion length, normalized lesion width, and pain type, while the Krause et al. model includes normalized lesion width, patient age, and the size of concurrent cyst-like lesions. The purpose of this study was to determine inter- and intra-observer reliability of the predictive nomograms. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated a consecutive series of children with open physes, who underwent non-operative treatment for stable JOCD lesions. Thirty-four patients (40 knees) were included in the study. At two time points at least one week apart, two medical students, two orthopaedic surgeons, and a radiologist made measurements of the JOCD lesions as described by Wall and Krause. These measurements, along with patient ages and pain type, were used to generate a point value for each lesion based on both the Krause and Wall models. Intra-class correlations (ICC) were calculated using the point value data obtained from the nomograms to determine inter- and intra-rater reliability. Results: Based on the Landis & Koch (1977) threshold, we found near perfect intra-rater correlation for all raters in terms of individual OCD measurements, as well as total point score as calculated by both Krause and Wall methods (Table 1). Additionally, amongst the five raters there was near perfect inter-rater reliabilities in total scores, as well as substantial to near perfect reliability in measuring the individual components of the scores (Table 2). Conclusion: There is high inter- and intra-rater reliability for both the Krause and Wall point systems for predicting healing of JOCD lesions. These models appear to be important tools for helping doctors and patients reliably predict the healing potential of non-operative management of JOCD lesions.

Long-Term Follow-Up of Arthroscopic Treatment of Discoid Lateral Meniscus in Children

Objectives: The discoid meniscus, occurring almost exclusively on the lateral side, can lead to pain, popping, snapping, and decreased knee extension. The purpose of this study was to examine the long-term clinical outcomes of arthroscopic partial meniscectomy for the treatment of discoid lateral meniscus in children. Methods: A previous study at our institution identified 27 consecutive patients who underwent arthroscopic meniscal saucerization by one of two surgeons between 1997 and 2002. These patients were included in this study if they were willing and able to complete the five outcomes questionnaires (IKDC Subjective Knee Evaluation, Kujala Scoring Questionnaire, Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale, Marx Activity Rating Scale and Tegner Activity Scale). Seven additional patients that were treated consecutively at least 10 years ago were also included in the study. Patients were also given the opportunity to receive a knee exam performed by one of the two treating surgeons. The exam was documented as per the IKDC knee examination protocol. Associations between outcome scores and discoid type, meniscal stability, location of instability, and age at time of surgery were identified. Results: Of the 34 eligible patients (23 female, 11 male), 22 patients were contacted, and 21 agreed to participate. The average length of follow-up was 13.7 years, ranging from 10.3 years to 16.6 years. Average age at the time of surgery was 9.3 years. Long-term follow-up revealed average IKDC, Kujala, and Lysholm scores of 82.87, 86.63 and 83.73, respectively. Additionally, average Marx and Tegner scores were 5.36 and 5.63, respectively. Stratifying the Lysholm scores revealed outcomes that were 45.4% excellent, 18.2% good, 27.3% fair, and 9.1% poor. The average IKDC Knee Examination score was A (normal). In total, 20.6% (7 of 34) of eligible patients underwent a subsequent surgical procedure on the affected knee. Conclusion: Numerous studies have demonstrated good to excellent short-term outcomes after arthroscopic treatment of discoid meniscus. At an average follow-up of nearly 14 years, our data suggests that clinical outcome scores decline over time. Compared to our previous study with 2-year follow-up, there is an increased rate of knee pain, mechanical symptoms, and functional limitations. Despite excellent post-operative IKDC examination scores, approximately 40% of our patient cohort demonstrated relatively low Lysholm scores (fair and poor).