Augmented Fixation for Fractures of the Appendicular Skeleton Despite advances in technology such as locked plating, osteoporotic bone and bone defects remain challenging complications for orthopaedic surgeons. The concept of augmented fixation is useful in these settings. Augmented fixation can be described as improving construct strength and stability by enhancing the surrounding environment. By understanding and using the techniques of alternative fixation strategies, endosteal or medullary support, structural grafting, or the use of bone graft substitutes in combination with standard or integrated fixation, surgeons can improve the chances of success when treating difficult fractures. The purpose of this article is to introduce the reader to the concept of augmented fixation, review strategies for its application, and review applicable published results.

Musculoskeletal Effects of Antineoplastic Agents Cancer remains a common disease with approximately 40% of Americans diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. Medical advances in the field of oncology have led to an increased life expectancy and a decreased mortality rate. Antineoplastic agents such as taxanes and targeted therapies are indicated in the treatment of many cancers, and their use can be associated with various musculoskeletal complaints and adverse effects. Orthopaedic Surgeons are trained to identify primary bone tumors and metastasis to bones. It is also important for them to have an understanding of the profile of musculoskeletal adverse effects associated with the treatment of the more common neoplasms. This article reviews the current literature on the commonly used chemotherapeutic agents and their associated musculoskeletal effects.

Orthopaedic Osseointegration: State of the Art Osseointegration is a surgical approach that permitted the direct attachment of an external prosthesis to the skeleton in some select patients with amputation, who had failed to tolerate conventional sockets, thereby obviating related issues such as discomfort, skin breakdown, and poor fit. In this specific population, osseointegration offers the potential for enhanced biomechanical advantage and rehabilitative potential. Multiple percutaneous implant systems exist for clinical use internationally, each attempting to create a stable bone-implant interface while avoiding complications such as infection and loosening. Prospective clinical trials are now underway in the United States. This article will review the history and biology of osseointegration, indications and contraindications for use of currently available implant systems, and reported outcomes. Future directions of orthopaedic osseointegration technology, including electronic systems capable of biomimetic bidirectional volitional motor control of, and sensory/proprioceptive feedback from, external prosthetic devices, will also be discussed.

Surgical Exposures for Total Elbow Arthroplasty Indications for total elbow arthroplasty (TEA) were traditionally reserved for patients with advanced rheumatoid disease and posttraumatic conditions of the elbow. The indications have expanded for TEA to include patients with acute elbow trauma, dysfunctional instability, and end-stage osteoarthritis. Many of these patients are younger and place a greater demand on their TEA. This evolution of TEA use combined with the concern of soft tissue handling and triceps function has led to increased interest regarding surgical exposure for TEA. Three generalized approaches to TEA are predicated on the handling of the triceps tendon: triceps reflecting, triceps splitting, and triceps sparing. Each of these approaches has its own inherent advantages and disadvantages. As indications grow for TEA and the possibility of revision surgery increases with use in younger, higher demand patients, it is important for treating surgeons to use these various exposures so that they are capable of treating patients in a variety of settings.

Early Sport Specialization Recent estimates are that close to 30 million children between the ages of 6 and 18 years participate in team sport and close to 60 million in some type of organized athletics in the United States. This has resulted in an increase in sport-related injuries, but the reasons for this are complex and multifactorial. Sport participation offers multiple benefits for children and adolescents, but there is concern that early sport specialization (ESS) may lead to adverse health and social effects. ESS has been defined as intensive training or competition in organized sport by prepubescent children (<12 years of age) for more than 8 months per year, with focus on a single sport to the exclusion of other sport and free play. An increased prevalence of ESS has been attributed to multiple variables, including coach/caregiver influence and the perception that developing athletes can attain mastery and gain a competitive advantage. Trends vary across individual and team sport and by sex. It has been proposed in the literature and lay press that a lack of diversified activity in youth leads to overuse injury, psychological fatigue, and burnout. ESS may not be necessary for elite athletic achievement, and the contrary has been proposed that early sport diversification leads to superior results. This review will summarize the current understanding of ESS, report evidence for and against its merits, highlight areas of future research, and provide recommendations for orthopaedic providers involved in the care of young athletes.

Use of Imaging Prior to Referral to a Musculoskeletal Oncologist The Musculoskeletal Tumor Society and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons recently collaborated on a clinical practice guideline Use of Imaging Prior to Referral to an Orthopaedic Oncologist. The complete manuscript is available on OrthoGuidelines (www.orthoguidelines.org) and the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society website (www.msts.org). This clinical practice guideline is designed to assist practitioners without specialization in musculoskeletal tumors to determine the most efficacious imaging modalities for establishing an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan when confronted with a bone or soft-tissue lesion of unknown etiology. A panel of experts with interest and expertise in orthopaedic surgery, orthopaedic oncology, and musculoskeletal radiology created relevant questions and synthesized existing literature into 12 topics and 27 recommendations. The group considered several common clinical and radiographic features often seen at the initial presentation of a bone or soft-tissue tumor of the pelvis or extremities. This guideline is intended to inform front-line practitioners to give insight into imaging modalities that are of minimal clinical utility, as well as those that are critical to establishing an accurate diagnosis and assessing the urgency of referral to an oncologic specialist. In addition to a summary of the primary findings of the report, we included three cases that illustrate clinical scenarios in which the guidelines can assist in determining the most appropriate first-line management. The strengths of the relevant guidelines are noted.

LigaSure Use Decreases Intraoperative Blood Loss Volume and Blood Transfusion Volume in Sarcoma Surgery Introduction: The LigaSure system has been successfully used in thoracic and abdominal surgery. However, to date, its use in the resection of sarcomas has not been systematically studied. We aimed to determine whether the use of the LigaSure system reduces blood loss and blood transfusion volumes in sarcoma surgery. Methods: One hundred forty-two consecutive patients who underwent sarcoma surgeries between July 2010 and October 2016 were included. Conventional electrocautery alone (n = 91) and with LigaSure (n = 51) were compared. Case-matched samples (n = 46) from each group were additionally compared. Results: The use of the LigaSure system resulted in a significant decrease in mean intraoperative blood loss (P = 0.02) and blood transfusion volume (P = 0.04). Likewise, a significant decrease in both mean and median intraoperative blood loss (P = 0.003; P < 0.0001) was seen with LigaSure in the case-matched analysis. In the soft-tissue sarcoma subgroup, a significant decrease was observed in mean hemoglobin reduction (P = 0.03) and mean intraoperative blood loss with LigaSure (P = 0.04). No adverse perioperative complications attributed to the LigaSure system were identified. Conclusions: The LigaSure vessel sealing and dividing system is a safe and effective hemostatic tool for deep dissection in bone and soft-tissue sarcoma surgery. Level of Evidence: Level III, therapeutic study

A Comparison of Patient-Centered Outcome Measures to Evaluate Dysphagia and Dysphonia After Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion Summary of Background Data: Dysphagia and dysphonia are the most common complications after anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion (ACDF). No consensus system exists currently in the spine literature for the classification of these conditions postoperatively. Objective: The purpose of this analysis was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10) in the assessment of dysphagia when compared with the Bazaz score. A secondary goal was to assess the Voice Handicap Index (VHI-10) scores among patients following ACDF. Methods: Patients treated with ACDF (one, two, or three level) for cervical radiculopathy and/or cervical myelopathy at two tertiary hospitals were administered patient-reported outcome metrics preoperatively as well as at multiple time points postoperatively. The metrics administered included the EAT-10, VHI-10, Bazaz, Neck Disbability Index, and EuroQol Five Dimensions questionnaire (EQ-5D)/visual analog scale. Results: One hundred patients were included in this study. Eighty-nine percentage had a 1-year follow-up, and 100% had a 12-week follow-up. Mean Neck Disbability Index, EQ-5D, and EQ-visual analog scale scores all improved from baseline at both 6 months and 1 year postoperatively. Both the EAT-10 and VHI-10 demonstrated excellent internal reliability (α = 0.95 and α = 0.90, respectively). Analysis of variance of EAT-10 and VHI-10 scores by time point demonstrated a statistically significant relationship (P < 0.0001). The EAT-10 and VHI-10 scores were statistically greater on postoperative day 1 than at all other times (Tukey posthoc, P < 0.0001 and P < 0.004, respectively). Across all time points, 176 instances of clinically significant dysphagia (EAT-10 ≥ 3) were noted, 57 (32%) of which were classified as “None” on the Bazaz classification. Conclusions: The EAT-10 score is an accurate measure for mild to severe dysphagia and better captured significant dysphagia that would have otherwise been missed when the Bazaz score is used. EAT-10 and VHI-10 are better measures of postoperative dysphagia and dysphonia than the current metrics used in spine surgery. Study Design: This was a prospective cohort study of consecutive patients.

The Impact of Patient-Reported Penicillin Allergy on Risk for Surgical Site Infection in Total Joint Arthroplasty Background: Penicillin (PCN) allergy is reported in 10% to 20% of the population; studies show that only 1% to 3% of patients have a true allergy. Most patients reporting a PCN allergy receive second-line antibiotic prophylaxis preoperatively, which raises concerns about antimicrobial efficacy. Studies also suggest that second-line antibiotics may increase the rate of surgical site infection (SSI). In this study we aim to analyze the effect of PCN allergy on antibiotic type prescribed and SSI in our total joint arthroplasty population. Methods: A retrospective review of 4,903 primary total hip and total knee arthroplasty performed from January 2015 to June 2017 in a single institution. A detailed chart review was performed to identify reported reactions and antibiotic prescribed. Results: Seven hundred ninety-six patients (16.2%) reported a PCN allergy; the reactions were classified into three tiers. Six hundred fifteen patients (12.5%) reported an IgE-mediated allergy, hypersensitivity, or a possible allergy; 89 (1.8%) reported an adverse effect; and 92 (1.9%) had an unknown reaction. Patients reporting a PCN allergy were less likely to receive cefazolin (94.9 versus 6.9%; P < 0.001) and more likely to receive clindamycin (1.1 versus 80.7%; P < 0.001) or vancomycin (4.0 versus 12.4%; P < 0.001). There was no difference in infection rate by reported PCN allergy (0.6 versus 0.4%; P = 0.473) or antibiotic prescribed (0.5 versus 0.6%; P = 0.4817). Conclusion: No patient with a PCN allergy and given cefazolin experienced a reaction; based on reported reactions, most patients with a PCN allergy can safely receive first-line antibiotic therapy. In this population, PCN allergy and second-line antibiotic therapy did not influence the rate of SSI.

Validation of a Novel Surgical Data Capturing System After Hip Arthroscopy Introduction: The purpose of this study is to compare the utility and validity of the OrthoMiDaS (Orthopaedic Minimal Data Set) Episode of Care (OME) database with the current benchmark for recording procedural details, the operative note (OpNote), with regard to disease severity and risk factors for hip arthroscopy cases. Methods: A convenience sample of the first 100 hip arthroscopy cases for labral tears done at our institution between February and August 2015 were selected for this study. Surgeons recorded procedural details within OME after each case. An individual blinded to the OME data performed a chart review of the OpNote and/or implant log and recorded the information in a separate REDCap database. Results: OME demonstrated higher completion rates than the OpNote for important procedural details such as previous left and right hip surgery (P < 0.001), anchor type (P = 0.008), and labrum tear clockface variables (P < 0.001 for both). In addition, OME exhibited “near-perfect” agreement with the OpNote for several important procedural details such as surgical limb (Kappa = 1.000), suture configuration (Kappa = 0.982), repair type (Kappa = 0.947), tear clockface: from (Kappa = 0.949), and tear clockface: to (Kappa = 0.885). On average, surgeons took 117 seconds to complete data entry within OME. Conclusion: The findings of this study validate the ability of OME to accurately and consistently capture important procedural details pertaining to arthroscopic hip surgery. Through the use of OME, high-quality standardized information can be captured and used to advance the field of hip arthroscopy by determining the clinically useful predictors of patient-reported outcome measures.