Background: Symptomatic genu recurvatum is a challenging condition to treat. Both osseous and soft tissue treatment options have been reported to address symptomatic genu recurvatum. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of this article was to review the current literature on surgical treatment options for symptomatic genu recurvatum and to describe the associated clinical outcomes. We hypothesized that anterior opening-wedge proximal tibial osteotomy (PTO) would be the most common surgical technique described in the literature and that this intervention would allow for successful long-term management of symptomatic genu recurvatum. Study Design: Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: A systematic review was performed according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, with the inclusion criterion of surgical treatment options for symptomatic genu recurvatum. Recurvatum secondary to polio, cerebrovascular accident, or cerebral palsy was excluded from this review. Results: A total of 311 studies were identified, of which 6 studies with a total of 80 patients met the inclusion criteria. Causes of genu recurvatum included physeal arrest; soft tissue laxity; and complications related to fractures, such as prolonged immobilization and malalignment. Mean follow-up times ranged from 1 to 14.5 years postoperatively. There were 5 studies that described anterior opening-wedge PTO, 2 of which used the Ilizarov distraction technique. All 3 studies that used PTO without the Ilizarov technique reported correction of recurvatum and increased posterior tibial slope; 2 of these studies also included subjective outcomes scores, reporting good or excellent outcomes in 70% (21/30) of patients. Of the studies that used the Ilizarov technique, both reported correction of recurvatum and increased posterior slope from preoperative to postoperative assessments. Both of these studies reported good or excellent subjective outcomes postoperatively in 89.5% (17/19) of patients. Additionally, 1 study successfully corrected recurvatum by performing a retensioning of the posterior capsule to address knee hyperextension, although follow-up was limited to 1 year postoperatively. Conclusion: Anterior opening-wedge PTO, with or without postoperative external fixation with progressive distraction, was found to be a reliable surgical treatment for symptomatic genu recurvatum. After surgical management with PTO, patients can expect to achieve correction of knee hyperextension, restoration of a more posterior tibial slope, and increased subjective outcome scores.
Background:
Few large-scale series have described functional outcomes after distal
triceps tendon repair. Predictors for operative success and a comparative
analysis of surgical techniques are limited in the reported literature.
Purpose:
To evaluate short-term to midterm functional outcomes after distal triceps
tendon repair in a broad patient population and to comparatively evaluate
patient-reported outcomes in patients with and without pre-existing
olecranon enthesopathy while also assessing for modifiable risk factors
associated with adverse patient outcomes and/or revision surgery.
Study Design:
Case series; Level of evidence, 4.
Methods:
This study was a retrospective analysis of 69 consecutive patients who
underwent surgical repair of distal triceps tendon injuries at a single
institution. Demographic information, time from injury to surgery, mechanism
of injury, extent of the tear, pre-existing enthesopathy, perioperative
complications, and validated patient-reported outcome scores were included
in the analysis. Patients with a minimum of 1-year follow-up were
included.
Results:
The most common mechanisms of injury were direct elbow trauma (44.9%),
extension/lifting exercises (20.3%), overuse (17.4%), and hyperflexion or
hyperextension (17.4%). Eighteen patients were identified with pre-existing
symptomatic enthesopathy, and 51 tears were caused by an acute injury. A
total of 36 complete and 33 partial tendon tears were identified. Bone
tunnels were most commonly used (n = 30; 43.5%), while direct sutures (n =
23; 33.3%) and suture anchors (n = 13; 18.8%) were also used. Perioperative
complications occurred in 21.7% of patients, but no patients experienced a
rerupture at the time of final follow-up. No statistically significant
relationship was found between patient age (
P
= .750),
degree of the tear (
P
= .613), or surgical technique
employed (
P
= .608) and the presence of perioperative
complications.
Conclusion:
Despite the heightened risk of perioperative complications after primary
repair of distal triceps tendon injuries, the current series found favorable
functional outcomes and no cases of reruptures at short-term to midterm
follow-up. Furthermore, age, surgical technique, extent of the tear, and
mechanism of injury were not associated with adverse patient outcomes in
this investigation. Pre-existing triceps enthesopathy was shown to be
associated with increased complication rates.
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