The Journal of arthroplasty
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A case of an active 52-year-old woman who, after a medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty, began complaining of lateral joint line pain and a persistent knee effusion. A lateral meniscal tear was diagnosed clinically, and she underwent an arthroscopic partial meniscectomy that resolved her problems. This case demonstrates the importance of considering a meniscal problem as the cause of any unexplained joint line pain in the unoperated compartment after a successful unicompartmental knee arthroplasty and not simply attributing it to progression of degenerative change within the lateral compartment.
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Hierarchical linear modeling was used to establish differences in, and the average pattern of, recovery of the pain subscale of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and 2 composite performance-specific measures of pain as well as to determine if significant individual variations exist in the growth curves for each measure. Predictors of postoperative pain were also of interest. ⋯ Although patients reported different levels of postoperative pain initially, similar recovery patterns were noted. Predictive variables were found to be site of joint arthroplasty and WOMAC prearthroplasty pain scores for the WOMAC pain subscale, the site of joint arthroplasty and sex for the first composite pain score, and sex for the second composite.
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Case Reports
Internal fixation after subtrochanteric femoral fracture after hip resurfacing arthroplasty.
Periprosthetic fractures around total hip arthroplasty create surgical challenges with many described techniques of either fixation or revision. The increasing popularity of hip resurfacing arthroplasty poses different problems especially if there is a desire to retain the prosthesis rather than converting to a total hip arthroplasty. We describe a previously unreported technique of fixation for a comminuted, proximal femoral fracture, beneath a hip resurfacing.
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Fifty patients underwent isokinetic muscle strength testing before surgery and at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year after unilateral total knee arthroplasty using the minisubvastus surgical technique. Quadriceps muscle strength returned to preoperative levels by 3 months postoperatively and was 17% stronger at 6 months and 30% stronger at 1 year than preoperative levels (P < .05). ⋯ When the entire study population was subdivided by age, weight, sex, and the presence of arthritis in the uninvolved knee, each subgroup still had equivalent quadriceps strength between the involved and uninvolved knees. This prospective study demonstrated that the minisubvastus total knee arthroplasty technique led to a more rapid and more complete recovery of muscle strength than has been previously demonstrated after total knee arthroplasty with a medial parapatellar arthrotomy.
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Interprosthetic fractures of the femur, those between an ipsilateral hip and knee arthroplasty, are challenging to treat secondary to limited bone available for fixation, osteopenic bone, a compromised intramedullary blood supply, and an often elderly patient population. From 2002 to 2006, 22 consecutive patients with an interprosthetic femur fracture were treated with a single-locking plate. ⋯ Single-locked plating is an effective method of treatment of interprosthetic fractures of the femur. Emphasis on preservation of the soft tissue envelope and sufficient cortical purchase both above and below the fracture is of paramount importance.