Introduction: The Pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 has put a strain on the most of health systems all over the world. Many hospitals had to re-organize to deal with the emergency, so that the non-core activities have been suspended or cancelled, raising management problems. The aim of this multicentre study is to report the epidemiological orthopaedic and traumatological data between COVID and pre-COVID era and to analyse patients' needs and their management. Methods: We reported and compared traumatological and elective orthopaedic surgeries performed in three of the main hospital centres in Tuscany during COVID (March 2020) and pre-COVID (March 2019) era. We also reported the epidemiological data about the number of orthopaedic first aid visits at the main hub, analysing the main differences. For each centre, we reported the number, diagnosis, comorbidities, treatment, hospital course, complications and outcomes of confirmed COVID 19 patients. We also indicated what kind of PPE were used by medical staff and patients at any visit. Results: The scheduled surgery drastically decreased in all the centres and the most of procedures were carried out for tumours, infections and implant mobilizations during the COVID time, delaying all the other ones. Trauma activities slightly decreased between the two time points: proximal femur fractures continued to engage our hospitals at the same pre-COVID volumes, while minor traumas drastically decreased. We report a decrease of 70.95% in orthopaedic first aid, with first-aid-visits/hospitalization ratio of 13.8 in the pre-COVID time vs 5.8 in the COVID time. A total of 5 confirmed COVID patients were treated for fractures and 4 of them healed without complications. We report just one case of death among COVID patients. All the medical staff members have worn the PPE and no one have developed COVID symptoms. Conclusions: The COVID-19 raised many important issues, such as the optimal management of patients requiring the treatment of conventional diseases during a pandemic. The flow of patients changes from one area to another during a pandemic and an integrated approach within the same geographical area could be useful to better allocate resources and manage the patients' needs. The preventive measures put in place in our country seem to work, but this first experience with COVID-19 crisis highlighted the chronic problems of our health system and we believe that we have to "learn the lesson" to be better prepared in the future.

Purpose  The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the subjective and functional outcome of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with the synthetic Ligament Advanced Reinforcement System (LARS) ligament. Methods  Twenty-six patients were reviewed at an average follow-up of 11.6 years. Objective clinical evaluation was performed with stability tests. Patient-reported outcomes (Visual Analogue Scale, Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score, and Cincinnati Knee Rating Scale) were used to assess subjective and functional outcomes. Results  Overall satisfactory results were obtained in 22 cases (84.6%). Four patients (15.4%) showed mechanical failure of the graft. No cases of synovitis or infection were reported. Conclusion  LARS ligament can be considered a safe and suitable option for ACL reconstruction in carefully selected cases, especially elderly patients needing a rapid postoperative recovery. Level of Evidence  Level IV, retrospective case series.

Introduction: Septic arthritis of the hip is a rare condition in adults and its treatment depends on symptoms duration: early onset of infection can be treated with open or arthroscopic debridement, while more aggressive surgery is required when articular damage takes place such as articular resection or total hip replacement (THA). Presentation of case: We report a case of a 30 year old man affect by septic arthritis of the hip after an intramuscular injection of diclofenac successfully treated with a two-steps THA. Discussion: In literature there aren’t many cases of septic arthritis of the hip developed after intramuscular injections. Early onset of infection can be treated with an accurate articular debridement, while chronic conditions are traditionally treated by resection arthroplasty. However resection arhtroplasty gives to the patients a significant leg length discrepancy and, especially in young adults, a two-steps surgery with the implant of THA can lead to good results, as reported in recent case series published. Conclusion: In our experience two-stage total hip arthroplasty proved to be a reliable solution for septic arthritis of the hip and may be used in patient with severe joint damage. Furthermore we want underline importance of correct anamnesis to make quickly the right diagnosis and provide the right treatment of septic arthritis of the hip also in difficult clinical cases. Highlights:

A new philosophy of science and medicine had spread throughout the 17th-century Italy: the “Scientific Revolution.” Giovanni Alfonso Borelli (1608–1679) was one of the most charismatic and brilliant scientists of his generation in Europe. He extended to biology the rigorous analytic methods developed by his indirect mentor Galileo in the field of mechanics. In his masterpiece “ De Motu Animalium ,” Borelli analyzed structure, motion, balance, and forces concerning almost all the principal joints of the human body, in static and dynamic situations. In particular, he accurately studied the anatomy and biomechanics of the knee joint. He sustained that femoral condyles shift backward during flexion, allowing a wider range of movement. Furthermore, he observed that, when the knee flexes, the lateral condyle moves backward more than the medial condyle: this concept is nowadays known as medial pivoting. The aim of this article is to describe the life and work of this important Italian scientist and to present his unrecognized contribution to modern knee biomechanics.

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