Platelet activity (malondialdehyde production) after orthopaedic surgery: the effect of aspirin

Using a biochemical assay of the prostaglandin endoperoxide metabolite malondialdehyde, platelet activity was evaluated in 147 patients who were undergoing orthopaedic surgical procedures. Assays were performed before and after operation and the results were correlated with the type of operation, the sex of the patient, and the use of aspirin as an antiplatelet-aggregation agent. Postoperatively, statistically significant elevations of platelet activity were found in patients who were not taking aspirin, while highly statistically significant suppressions of this activity were found after total hip arthroplasties and other surgical procedures in patients who had received aspirin. Men and women had similar levels of suppression of platelet aggregability with aspirin.

Total hip arthroplasty in protrusio acetabuli of rheumatoid arthritis

Thirty-five total hip arthroplasties done in twenty-five patients with protrusio acetabuli secondary to rheumatoid arthritis were reviewed. There was an average follow-up of 4.3 years, with a range of three to seven years. The results were rated as excellent or good in 66 per cent, fair in 26 per cent, and poor in 8 per cent. Although 100 per cent demonstrated cementbone interface demarcation around the acetabular component, only 10 per cent showed progression of the line of demarcation to two millimeters and one had acetabular loosening with migration. Eight per cent showed femoral loosening or subsidence; 8 per cent, calcar resorption; and 6 per cent, a receding cortex with cystic changes. Twenty-three per cent had nonunion of the greater torchanter after trochanteric osteotomy. Type-III cement-bone interface demarcation was present around the acetabular component was positioned one centimeter superiorly or medially beyond the anatomical position, as estimated by the method described. In thirteen hips in which the acetabular component was positioned within five millimeters of the anatomical position, no Type-III demarcation was present. Better fixation and position of the acetabular component is achieved by the use of a bone graft or a special titanium perforated-sheet mesh, or both, or by an acetabular shell. The use of three wires improved trochanteric fixation.

Cervical spine fusion in rheumatoid arthritis

Spinal fusion for deformity of the cervical spine was done in thirty-three patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The average follow-up was three years. The deformities present were atlano-axial subluxation, superior migration of the odontoid process into the foramen magnum, and subaxial subluxation of the vertebral bodies. We devised a classification of the pain and the neural involvement in these patients and a new method of measuring superior migration. The surgical procedures for treating instability, intractable pain, or neural involvement, or a combination of the three, were: (1) a Gallie fusion of the first and second cervical vertebrae for atlanto-axial subluxation, (2) a fusion of the occiput and the second cervical vertebra for superior migration of the odontoid process, and (3) a posterior fusion for subaxial subluxation. The occiput was included in the fusion if superior migration of the odontoid process was demonstrated. The results show that four of five patients who had an anterior fusion had no improvement. Twenty-five patients had posterior fusion; in seventeen the condition was improved, in five there was improvement, and in three the condition was worse. Of nineteen patients with neural involvement, the condition was improved in eight, it was unchanged in seven, and it was made worse in two. There were three postoperative deaths and six additional unrelated deaths within two years of surgery. There were five pseudarthroses.

The total condylar knee prosthesis. A report of two hundred and twenty cases

The total condylar knee prosthesis is a non-hinged surface replacement which can be used for almost all knee deformities. This report discusses the first consecutive 220 arthroplasties in 183 patients. Follow-up time was three to five years. Before operation eighty-six knees had more than 10 degrees of fixed varus deformity and thirty-one knees had more than 10 degrees of fixed valgus deformity. All patients were assessed using The Hospital for Special Surgery scoring system. Of the total of 220 knees, 137 (62%) were rated excellent; sixty-one (28%), good; ten (4.5%), fair; and twelve (5.5%), poor. Of 139 osteoarthritic knees, 93% were rated excellent or good. Complications included three deep infections and four cases of posterior subluxation. The over-all reoperation rate was 3.6%.

GUEPAR knee arthroplasty results and late complications

One hundred eight GUEPAR knee arthroplasties have been studied with a follow-up of one year on 41; 2 years on 22 and 3 years on 45 knees. Overall results were 17% excellent, 44% good, 10% fair and 29% poor. Excellent results were comparatively fewer in rheumatoid arthritis. There was a deterioration in the quality of results of arthroplasty with longer follow-up. The incidence of deep infection was 11%. There was a significant correlation between early wound drainage and deep infection. More than half of the infected knees have not required intervenition as yet. One knee was revised and 3 had attempted arthrodesis with one successful fusion. Two patients died with septicemia. Axle migration occurred in 8 knees and femoral stem breakage in 2 knees. Loosening was found in 27% of the knees with progressive reduction in quality of the arthroplasty. Incomplete cementing predisposed to loosening. Patellar symptoms were present in 28% of the knees. Patellar subluxation and dislocation occurred in 49% of the knees. More than half of these were symptomatic. With normal patellofemoral alignment, pain was more common in the osteoarthritic knee. Use of a patellar implant with GUEPAR knee prostesis should be restricted to severely disabled patients with major fixed deformities. Mechanical failure can be minimized by proper positioning of the implant, correct alignment of the extensor mechanism and adequate cement around the entire stem.

Total hip replacement in congenital dislocation and dysplasia of the hip

The results of thirty-one total hip replacements in twenty-four patients with either severe congenital dysplasia or dislocation, after an average follow-up of four years, were excellent in eleven, good in sixteen, fair in one, and poor in one. The operative technique included superolateral bone grafts to increase the acetabular coverage in six hips. Twenty-seven hips required smaller and straighter femoral components than normal. The incidence of major complications was 19 per cent.

Joint replacement surgery in patients under thirty

Forty-five patients, twenty-six of them with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, had sixty-seven total hip arthroplasties. The patients' ages ranged from twelve to twenty-nine years. An over-all good result was demonstrated in 93 per cent of the patients had a poor result, in 6.9 per cent. The average follow-up period was 32.5 months. Careful planning in severely dysplastic joints should be done.

A comparison of four models of total knee-replacement prostheses

Twenty-nine knees with unicondylar, sixty-four with duocondylar, fifty with Guepar, and fifty with geometric prostheses were studied. The follow-up ranged from two to three and one-half years. The unicondylar prosthesis was used in the mildest cases and gave the least complications, but the quality of results was not superior to that achieved with the other prostheses. The duocondylar model was best suited for knees with rheumatoid arthritis and mild deformity. The geometric prosthesis was the best condylar prosthesis for osteoarthritis with moderate to severe deformity, but gave the worst results in knees with rheumatoid arthritis. The Guepar prosthesis was used in the worst knees and gave the best results, but it had the highest infection rate and was the most difficult to salvage. A radiolucency was observed in about 60 per cent of the condylar replacements around the tibial component and in 45 per cent of the Geupar replacements around the femoral component. The significance of this cannot yet be determined but it suggest that the fixation may not be ideal. In all types, residual pain was most frequently attributed to the patellar compartment. Patellectomy was not a solution.

Total condylar knee replacment: preliminary report

The Total Condylar Prosthesis is a non-hinged unit designed to: replace the patellofemoral articulation; improve fixation of the tibial component by means of a stout central peg; permit accurate and reproducible insertion. The cruciate ligaments are excised to obtain better tibial fixation. Instability has not been a problem except in a few cases of a technical error (removal of excessive bone from the tibia creates instability in flexion). The prosthesis cannot be positioned by "eye" and the instrumentation must be applied exactly.

Duo-condylar knee arthroplasty: hospital for special surgery design

This is a report of 94 knees in 88 patients with the duo-condylar type of knee arthroplasty. The follow-up period of time was between 2 to 4 years with an average of 3 years. The rheumatoid to osteoarthritic patient ratio was 3 to 1. The overall results were excellent in 37.5 per cent, good in 37.5 per cent, fair in 16 per cent, and poor in 9 per cent. The main causes of failure and poor results were: (1) under or over correction of deformity leading to subluxation and/or instability of the knee; (2) loosening of the tibial component, and (3) symptoms arising from the patellofemoral joint. The revision rate is 5.5 per cent. The progressive radiolucency at the cement bone bond is 26 per cent of which 16 per cent is up to 1 mm and 10 per cent is between 1.5 to 3 mm. To further improve the results of arthroplasty, one should take into consideration (1) replacement of the patellofemoral joint, (2) insertion of the prosthesis in the proper anatomical location under correct tension of the ligaments and capsule with the help of proper instrumentation and (3) improvement in fixation of the tibial component.

Total hip replacement in patients with ankylosing spondylitis with involvement of the hip

Twenty-three patients with ankylosing spondylitis underwent thirty-four total hip arthroplasties with an average follow-up of 42.5 months. The over-all results were rated good in all but two patients. Significant benefit was obtained in posture and function so that these patients could be gainfully employed. Improvement in the sum total range of motion was 96.1 degrees in patients with bone ankylosis and 150 degrees in those with fibrous ankylosis. The preoperative sum total range of motion was maintained or improved in hips with a painful arc of motion. Most of the limited motion in patients with ankylosed hips was due to myositis ossificans.

Madelung's deformity. An end-result study of surgical treatment

A long-term follow-up (average, eight years) of surgical treatment of thirteen cases of Madelung's deformity in eight patients showed that the Darrach procedure was successful when there was mild deformity and that biplane osteotomy of the radius combined with the Darrach procedure was needed for severe deformity. Subluxation of the lunate bone ulnarward occurred after the Darrach procedure but was not clinically symptomatic.

Role of early synovectomy of the knee joint in rheumatoid arthritis

The prospective study of 32 knees in 26 patients with rheumatoid arthritis was carried out with an average followup of 3 years. Relief of pain and control of inflammation locally were obtained in 22 of 32 knees (69%). Articular cartilage was preserved in 20 of 28 knees (71%) and the synovitis recurred in 9 knees (28%), 7 of which showed progressive loss of cartilage. Therefore, it appears that synovectomy, if performed at a stage in which articular cartilage is still normal and after medical therapy has failed, is a very effective method for preserving articular cartilage and controlling inflammation locally. However, with a longer followup the disease with loss of articular cartilage will recur in a large number of cases. In patients whose disease progresses rapidly, no form of therapy effectively controls joint destruction.