Medial opening-wedge has gained popularity in comparison to other techniques of high tibial osteotomy. This technique involves the creation of a gap in the tibia. Filling the gap with autologous iliac bone graft was recommended in the classic description, to prevent complications such as correction loss or delayed bone union. No previous reports have compared grafted and nongrafted osteotomies. This study hypothesized that the use of autologous bone graft in medial opening-wedge high tibial osteotomy (MOWHTO) less than 12.5 mm is unnecessary. A prospective randomized clinical trial was conducted. Forty-six opening-wedge high tibial osteotomies were carried out between April 2007 and December 2008. All had fixation with a type of Puddu stainless steel plate and screws. Patients were randomly divided by software analysis into two groups: group A had osteotomies that were filled with autologous bone graft and group B had osteotomies that were unfilled. Autologous iliac bone graft was harvested in both groups. Clinical and radiographic evaluations were performed twice monthly by blinded investigators. The rates of complications were compared between the groups. There was no difference in demographic data. Mean time to clinical bone union in group A was 12.4 weeks (confidence interval [CI] 11.2-13.6) and in group B was 13.7 weeks (CI 12.5-14.9), but this difference was not significant (P = 0.13). Signals of correction loss occurred in one patient (4.35%) in group A, and in two patients (8.70%) in group B. All osteotomies had achieved bone union. It was concluded that time to bone union was not statistically different between the group with bone graft and the group without graft.

Cell therapy is a promising approach to improve cartilage healing. Adipose tissue is an abundant and readily accessible cell source. Previous studies have demonstrated good cartilage repair results with adipose tissue mesenchymal stem cells in small animal experiments. This study aimed to examine these cells in a large animal model. Thirty knees of adult sheep were randomly allocated to three treatment groups: CELLS (scaffold seeded with human adipose tissue mesenchymal stem cells), SCAFFOLD (scaffold without cells), or EMPTY (untreated lesions). A partial thickness defect was created in the medial femoral condyle. After six months, the knees were examined according to an adaptation of the International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS 1) score, in addition to a new Partial Thickness Model scale and the ICRS macroscopic score. All of the animals completed the follow-up period. The CELLS group presented with the highest ICRS 1 score (8.3 ± 3.1), followed by the SCAFFOLD group (5.6 ± 2.2) and the EMPTY group (5.2 ± 2.4) (p = 0.033). Other scores were not significantly different. These results suggest that human adipose tissue mesenchymal stem cells promoted satisfactory cartilage repair in the ovine model.

Objective Articular cartilage is an avascular tissue with limited ability of self-regeneration and the current clinical treatments have restricted capacity to restore damages induced by trauma or diseases. Therefore, new techniques are being tested for cartilage repair, using scaffolds and/or stem cells. Although type II collagen hydrogel, fibrin sealant, and adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) represent suitable alternatives for cartilage formation, their combination has not yet been investigated in vivo for focal articular cartilage defects. We performed a simple experimental procedure using the combination of these 3 compounds on cartilage lesions of rabbit knees. Design The hydrogel was developed in house and was first tested in vitro for chondrogenic differentiation. Next, implants were performed in chondral defects with or without ASCs and the degree of regeneration was macroscopically and microscopically evaluated. Results Production of proteoglycans and the increased expression of collagen type II (COL2α1), aggrecan (ACAN), and sex-determining region Y-box 9 (SOX9) confirmed the chondrogenic character of ASCs in the hydrogel in vitro. Importantly, the addition of ASC induced a higher overall repair of the chondral lesions and a better cellular organization and collagen fiber alignment compared with the same treatment without ASCs. This regenerating tissue also presented the expression of cartilage glycosaminoglycan and type II collagen. Conclusions Our results indicate that the combination of the 3 compounds is effective for articular cartilage repair and may be of future clinical interest.

O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar os efeitos terapêuticos dos exercícios em cadeia cinética aberta (CCA) e cadeia cinética fechada (CCF) no tratamento da síndrome da dor femoropatelar (SDFP). Para tanto, 24 voluntários portadores de SDFP foram aleatoriamente divididos em dois grupos: grupo I (n = 12): realizou exercícios em CCA; grupo II (n = 12): realizou exercícios em CCF. Os grupos foram submetidos a oito semanas consecutivas de tratamento, que consistiu de três sessões semanais realizadas em dias alternados. Para análise dos padrões de ativação dos músculos vasto medial oblíquo (VMO) e vasto lateral (VL) os sinais eletromiográficos (EMG) foram adquiridos com eletrodos bipolares de superfície, quantificados pela raiz quadrada da média (root mean square RMS) e normalizados pela contração isométrica voluntária máxima do quadríceps. Por meio de escalas avaliou-se a intensidade da dor e funcionalidade dos voluntários. A análise dos valores da razão VMO/VL nos grupos I e II demonstrou que não houve diferenças significativas entre os tempos pré e pós-tratamento nas fases concêntrica (p > 0,05) e excêntrica (p > 0,05) dos exercícios em CCA e CCF. Apesar disso, o músculo VMO apresentou menor taxa de ativação em relação ao VL na fase excêntrica do exercício em CCF. Foram encontrados aumentos significativos na funcionalidade (p < 0,05) e redução da intensidade da dor (p < 0,05) entre os tempos pré e pós-tratamento em ambos os grupos, porém, o grupo II mostrou-se superior ao grupo I nestas duas variáveis. Os resultados deste estudo sugerem que, de acordo com as condições experimentais utilizadas, os exercícios em CCA e CCF não provocaram mudanças nos padrões de ativação EMG dos músculos VMO e VL; entretanto, promoveram melhora da funcionalidade e redução da intensidade da dor após oito semanas de intervenção, sendo que os exercícios em CCF foram superiores aos em CCA.

ObjectivesTo test the hypothesis that autologous iliac bone grafts do not enhance clinical results and do not decrease complication rates in patients undergoing medial opening-wedge high tibial osteotomy.MethodsForty patients allocated in a randomized, two-armed, double-blinded clinical trial were evaluated between 2007 and 2010. One group received bone graft, and the other group was left without filling the osteotomy defect. The primary outcome was the Knee Society Score. Radiographic measurement of the frontal anatomical femoral-tibial angle and the progression of osteoarthritis according to the modified Ahlback classification were used as secondary outcomes.ResultsThere was no difference in KSS scale between the graft group (64.4 ± 21.8) and the graftless group (61.6 ± 17.3; p = 0.309). There was no difference of angle between the femur and tibia in the frontal plane between the groups (graft = 184 ± 4.6 degrees, graftless = 183.4 ± 5.1 degrees; p = 1.0), indicating that there is no loss of correction due to the lack of the graft. There was significant aggravation of osteoarthritis in a greater number of patients in a graft group (p = 0.005).ConclusionAutologous iliac bone graft does not improve clinical outcomes in medium and long-term follow-up of medial opening-wedge high tibial osteotomy fixed with a first generation Puddu plate in the conditions of this study.