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Background. This article describes 2 cases of post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transient spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee (PCT-SONK) observed in patients who had previously recovered from COVID-19 without corticosteroid administration.Objectives. The possible pathomechanisms by which a recent SARS-CoV-2 infection may contribute as a causative factor for osteonecrosis are reviewed, and the differential diagnosis and treatment are discussed. Materials and methods.Two patients (males, 45-and 47-year-old) presented with sudden onset knee pain with no trauma history. The pain persisted during rest and at night. On magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), no subchondral bone thickening was observed; bone edema was diffusely distributed in the whole femoral condyle, in contrast to the more focal edema that is typically concentrated mainly around the subchondral region in classic SONK. Both patients were treated nonoperatively with no weight bearing and pharmacological agents, and complete resolution of symptoms was achieved. Results.A follow-up MRI 10 weeks after presentation revealed a near-complete loss of signal in the medial femoral condyle in both patients.Conclusions. Orthopedic surgeons should be cautious when sudden knee pain without concurrent trauma or a history of injury occurs shortly after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, even with mild COVID-19 illness. While some studies report the development of post-COVID-19 osteonecrosis after lower doses of corticosteroids and sooner after their administration than in comparable non-COVID-19 cases, our study is the first to report 2 cases with no corticosteroid administration at all. Therefore, the authors believe it adds to the body of knowledge on the potential connections between COVID-19 and PCT-SONK. The transient nature of symptoms and radiological findings suggest that aggressive surgical treatment of non-injury local bone edema occurring shortly after SARS-CoV-2 infection should be avoided.

Since the role of the menisci has been better understood, there is a trend toward the meniscal repair rather than meniscectomy in the management of meniscal tears. Although numerous techniques of meniscal repair have been described and many authors advocate for and against each of them, no single method is universally accepted. The allinside repair provides several advantages, such as a lower risk of neurovascular injury, the early introduction of exercises in passive range of motion, or the high strength of the repair. However, the all-inside meniscal repair with nonabsorbable suture is considered to be a technically demanding procedure with a long learning curve needed to perform it properly. The purpose of this Technical Note is to present the technique of lateral meniscus repair with nonabsorbable sutures and to provide surgical pearls to facilitate this procedure.

Purpose To assess the recovery of extension and improvement in functional scores after an arthroscopic or open posterior knee capsulotomy in the setting of an extension deicit. Methods A systematic search of articles published between 1980 and 2020 was performed in the MEDLINE/PubMed database, EMBASE/Ovid database and Web of Science database. The inclusion criteria consisted of patients with primary extension deicits > 5° who underwent an arthroscopic or open posterior knee capsulotomy. The assessed outcomes were preoperative and postoperative range of motion and functional outcome scores. Randomized controlled trials, cohort studies and case series with a follow-up longer than 6 months were included. The risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool for case series. The certainty of evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach. Results Of 226 records identiied through database searching, 7 studies were included in the inal analysis. The outcomes of 107 patients with a mean age of 34.1 (range 15-63) years were available. In all the included studies, a posterior capsulotomy resulted in the restoration of knee extension to normal or nearly normal values (mean postoperative extension deicit: 0.4-4.2 degrees) with a signiicant increase in functional outcome scores. No neurovascular complications were reported within the studies. Due to the diverse methodology of studies, the direct comparison of arthroscopic versus open approaches was not possible. Concerning the risk of bias assessment, the greatest concerns raised the selection of participants among the included studies and the methods of outcome measurement. The certainty of evidence was very low according to the GRADE. Conclusions Both arthroscopic and open posterior capsulotomy of the knee results in restoration of normal or nearly normal knee extension and signiicant improvement in functional outcomes. Level of evidence IV.

The rapid development of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction and repair techniques has significantly improved the outcomes of these procedures. However, there is still some place for how to improve surgical techniques to limit the amount of revision surgeries. Over the past decade, biological solutions and methods of ligament remodeling enhancement have been proposed. The use of the native ACL remnants has been the most thoroughly analyzed technique. However, despite its benefits, this technique may not to be sufficient to improve outcomes and may cause some technical difficulties. On the other hand, the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) fat pad contains an abundant synovial vascular network and is located in close proximity to the ACL, which makes it a potential biological donor place of cells and tissue that could enhance the ligamentization of the repaired or reconstructed ACL. To optimize the use of this donor site, we propose the technique of ACL synovialization and revascularization enhancement with a PCL fat pad transfer.