Giant cell tumour (GCT) of bones in the hand is very rare, only 2% of all hand tumours, but unacceptably high recurrence rates (up to 90%) have been reported by several authors. Diagnosis can be challenging due to its rarity and enchondroma-mimicking characteristics. We report on a case of GCT of the middle phalanx of the left middle finger in a 49-year-old woman who underwent middle phalanx resection and reconstruction with bone grafting. At the 1-year follow-up, no evidence of recurrence was detected and the patient was pain-free.

Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) in anterior cruciate ligament deficiency (ACLD) has been debated for decades after the development of highly cross-linked polyethylene. This study aims to evaluate the effect of posterior tibial slope on restoring adequate knee stability and flexion after UKA in patients with ACLD. A total of 15 fresh cadaveric knees were divided into three groups: intact ACL, partial ACLD, and complete ACLD. Fixed-bearing UKAs including 3-D-printed tibial inserts with the slopes ranging from 3 to 12 were performed using computer-assisted navigation. Blinded evaluation of knee motion and anterior knee translation with knees flexed 20 and 90 was conducted using KT-arthrometry and stress radiography. A 1 slope increase translated the knees anteriorly by 0.85 mm and 0.76 mm in 20 and 90 of knee flexion for a complete ACLD (R ¼ 0.7 and 0.8, respectively, p < 0.001) compared to 0.5-0.6 mm for the normal and partial ACLD groups, respectively. Setting a slope of 5-8 of UKA for an intact ACL maintained both the stability and the motion of native knees. No significant changes of knee translation and flexion ability were observed after leveling the slopes at 5-7 and 5-6 for partial and complete ACLD, respectively (p > 0.05 for all comparisons). In conclusion, UKA in complete ACLD knees is challenging since 1 of slope change nearly doubles the degree of knee translation compared to ACL-intact knees. The optimum posterior tibial slopes for fixed-bearing UKA patients with partial and complete ACLD are 5-7 and 5-6 , respectively.

Restoration of ambulatory status is considered a primary treatment goal for older patients with intertrochanteric fractures. Several surgical-related parameters were reported to be associated with mechanical failure without focusing on the functional outcomes. Our study examines the roles of both clinical and surgical parameters as prognostic factors on 1-year postoperative ambulatory outcomes, reaching a good functional outcome (the New Mobility Score: NMS ≥ 5) and returning to preinjury functional status at one year, of older patients with intertrochanteric fracture. Intertrochanteric fractures patients age ≥65 years who underwent surgical treatment at our institute between January 2017 and February 2020 were included. Of 209 patients included, 149 (71.3%) showed a good functional outcome at one year. The pre-injury ambulatory status (OR 52.72, 95%CI 5.19–535.77, p = 0.001), BMI <23 kg/m2 (OR 3.14, 95%CI 1.21–8.13, p = 0.018), Hb ≥10 g/dL (OR 3.26, 95%CI 1.11–9.57, p = 0.031), and NMS at discharge ≥2 (OR 8.50, 95%CI 3.33–21.70, p < 0.001) were identified as independent predictors for reaching a good postoperative functional outcome. Only aged ≤80 (OR 2.34, 95%CI 1.11–4.93, p = 0.025) and NMS at discharge ≥2 (OR 6.27, 95%CI 2.75–14.32, p < 0.001) were significantly associated with an ability to return to preinjury function. To improve postoperative ambulatory status, orthopedic surgeons should focus more on modifying factors, such as maintaining the preoperative hemoglobin ≥10 g/dL and providing adequate postoperative ambulation training to maximize the patients’ capability upon discharge. While surgical parameters were not identified as predictors, they can still be used as guidance to optimize the operation quality.

Individualized prediction of postoperative ambulatory status for patients with intertrochanteric fractures is clinically relevant, during both preoperative and intraoperative periods. This study intended to develop clinical prediction rules (CPR) to predict one-year postoperative functional outcomes in patients with intertrochanteric fractures. CPR development was based on a secondary analysis of a retrospective cohort of patients with intertrochanteric fractures aged ≥50 years who underwent a surgical fixation. Good ambulatory status was defined as a New Mobility Score ≥5. Two CPR for preoperative and intraoperative predictions were derived using clinical profiles and surgical-related parameters using logistic regression with the multivariable fractional polynomial procedure. In this study, 221 patients with intertrochanteric fractures were included. Of these, 160 (72.4%) had good functional status at one year. The preoperative model showed an acceptable AuROC of 0.77 (95%CI 0.70 to 0.85). After surgical-related parameters were incorporated into the preoperative model, the model discriminative ability was significantly improved to an AuROC of 0.83 (95%CI 0.77 to 0.88) (p = 0.021). The newly-derived CPR enable physicians to provide patients with intertrochanteric fractures with their individualized predictions of functional outcome one year after surgery, which could be used for risk communication, surgical optimization and tailoring postoperative care that fits patients’ expectations.

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