The case of a 29-year-old man who had osteochondritis dissecans on the medial aspect of the humeral head is reported. Repetitive micro-trauma at a low elevated arm position was thought to have induced the osteochondral lesion.
The case of a 29-year-old man who had osteochondritis dissecans on the medial aspect of the humeral head is reported. Repetitive micro-trauma at a low elevated arm position was thought to have induced the osteochondral lesion.
Primary bone tumors around the elbow represent <1% of all the skeletal tumors. Surgery with or without adjuvant therapy (radiotherapy, chemotherapy) is the treatment of choice for malignant tumors. Reconstruction of the elbow and forearm in malignant tumors is challenging as it involves a complex interplay between multiple joints which need to be stabilized for the optimal functional outcome. We describe a new technique for the reconstruction of the elbow after resection of a proximal ulna tumor with articular radio-ulnar synostosis with the creation of a single bone forearm. We attempted to achieve a mobile elbow and stable wrist joint with the radio-ulnar union at the proximal articular surface of the ulna resulting in a single bone forearm. The procedure involves an oblique osteotomy preserving the olecranon process (after taking adequate margins based on oncological principles) and its articular cartilage along with the attachment of the triceps tendon. Then the radial head was partially denuded of its cartilage using a burr, leaving cartilage only on the volar side, and then fused to the remnant olecranon. Osteosynthesis was done using compression screw and tension band wiring. The advantages of this procedure are that the mobility at wrist and elbow are retained, it requires minimal hardware and allows for primary closure of the wound.
Rotator cuff tears have been reported to be uncommon following total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA). Postoperative rotator cuff tears can lead to pain, proximal humeral migration, and glenoid component loosening. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the incidence of post-TSA rotator cuff tears or dysfunction in osteoarthritic patients. A systematic review of multiple databases was performed using preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines. Levels I-IV evidence clinical studies of patients with primary osteoarthritis with a minimum 2-year follow-up were included. Fifteen studies with 1259 patients (1338 shoulders) were selected. Student's t-tests were used with a significant alpha value of 0.05. All patients demonstrated significant improvements in motion and validated clinical outcome scores (P < 0.001). Radiographic humeral head migration was the most commonly reported data point for extrapolation of rotator cuff integrity. After 6.6 ± 3.1 years, 29.9 ± 20.7% of shoulders demonstrated superior humeral head migration and 17.9 ± 14.3% migrated a distance more than 25% of the head. This was associated with an 11.3 ± 7.9% incidence of postoperative superior cuff tears. The incidence of radiographic anterior humeral head migration was 11.9 ± 15.9%, corresponding to a 3.0 ± 13.6% rate of subscapularis tears. We found an overall 1.2 ± 4.5% rate of reoperation for cuff injury. Nearly all studies reported indirect markers of rotator cuff dysfunction, such as radiographic humeral head migration and clinical exam findings. This systematic review suggests that rotator cuff dysfunction following TSA may be more common than previously reported. IV, systematic review of Levels I-IV studies.