No abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and radiological outcome of the treatment of osteonecrosis of the femoral head by implantation of an osteonecrosis intervention rod. In this retrospective study the follow-up of 19 patients with 23 osteonecrotic femoral heads treated with implantation of an osteonecrosis intervention implant was assessed. From 19 patients with 23 necrotic femoral heads, there were 13 cases in which a total hip replacement was necessary. This implies a survival rate of 44% after implantation of an osteonecrosis intervention rod after a mean follow-up of 1.45 years. The outcome after core decompression combined with the insertion of a tantalum osteonecrosis intervention implant did not show superior results compared to core decompression alone. This is in contrast to existing studies. In addition, this study showed that in cases of total hip replacement, no problems appeared during explantation of the tantalum rod.

The study confirms encouraging results as well as good bone ingrowth of the cementless short stem arthroplasty METHA(®) even in patients with osteonecrosis.

The purpose of this study was to determine the objective and subjective long-term outcomes of the first free meniscal allograft transplantations in five patients with complete absence or non-repairable lesion of the medial meniscus after 20 years. Between 1984 and 1986 five patients underwent concomitant medial meniscal transplantation with a deep frozen meniscal allograft, ACL reconstruction and femoral advancement or temporary detachment of the MCL. The clinical outcome of the patients was evaluated 20 years postoperatively using clinical assessment, Lysholm-score, KOOS, IKDC-score, radiographs and magnetic resonance imaging. The Lysholm-score ranged between 21 and 97 points of 100 maximal available points. Corresponding to this the total KOOS ranged between 28.4 and 91.1%. The results of the IKDC-score were evaluated as nearly normal (B) (n = 2), abnormal (C) (n = 2) and severely abnormal (D) (n = 1). The radiological evaluation according to the Kellgren-Lawrence classification showed an increase of the degenerative changes between one and four grades. The radiological results revealed clear degenerative changes with long-term follow-up after meniscal allograft transplantation even though some patients did relatively well regarding the subjective and clinical results in the 20-year follow-up examination in comparison with the literature. Despite these relative clear results the question if medial meniscal transplantation can protect against development of arthritis cannot definitely be answered because in this first case series some aspects of meniscus transplantation that have not been considered which turned out to be of importance during the last 20 years. Furthermore, it has to be taken into account that all patients revealed a cartilage damage at the time of surgery and an ACL reconstruction was performed in addition. Nevertheless from biomechanical point of view it might be taken into consideration to combine the medial meniscus transplantation at least with a high tibial osteotomy. Level of evidence was (IV, case series).

Since 1998, short stem total hip arthroplasty (THA) has been performed at the authors' institution. Currently, 30% of THAs are performed with short stems. This article reports on complications that required revision of a short stem THA. Between September 2005 and February 2012, a total of 1953 Metha short stem THAs were performed; of these, 38 required revision due to mechanical complications. In 12 cases, the modular titanium neck adapter failed. In 19 cases, aseptic implant loosening occurred; of these, 11 cases were due to major stem subsidence. In 2 cases, via falsa (cortical penetration) implantation occurred. In 5 cases, periprosthetic fractures led to revision. This corresponds to an aseptic total revision rate of 1.3% for 26 short stems and 1.9% including the cases of all 38 documented revision cases. Thirty-four cases were revised with cementless standard hip stems, 2 cases were revised with short stems, and 2 cases were revised with long revision stems. Undersizing was analyzed in 58% of aseptic revisions. Fifty-four percent of revisions were performed in male patients - 23% with osteonecrosis of the femoral head, and 7% with short hip stems positioned in varus in coxa vara deformities. Seventy-two percent of revisions after marked early stem subsidence and position change into valgus were performed in female patients. Dysplastic hips with coxa valga did not show elevated revision rates. No revisions were performed for dislocation or femoral thigh pain. Short stem THA with the Metha implant is a bone-preserving option for various indications in select patient groups.