Are eponyms used correctly or not? A literature review with a focus on shoulder and elbow surgery

Abstract

Background Eponymous terms are used frequently in daily patient care and scientific literature. They remind us of our predecessors in surgery. It is debatable whether eponymous terms are reliable in case of information transfer. The aim of our study was to investigate whether the original meaning of eponymous terms in shoulder and elbow surgery has been preserved in its use in contemporary literature. Objective To evaluate whether eponymous terms were used correctly, we analysed the use of frequently encountered eponymous terms from January to December 2014. Study selection By means of a PubMed search, articles with eponymous terms were identified and analysed for the way an eponymous term was used, and we compared it with the original description. The original description was traced back to the index publication. The use of the eponymous term was scored as similar, divergent or undefined. In the search for eponymous terms, we included those eponymous terms that were used more than 10 times in the English, German and Dutch literature of 2014. 6 eponymous terms were eligible for analysis: Bankart lesion, Bristow-Latarjet procedure, Essex-Lopresti injury of the forearm, Galeazzi fracture, Hill-Sachs lesion and Monteggia fracture. Findings We analysed 96 articles with the listed eponymous terms, of which 27 (28%) were scored divergent, 32 (33%) undefined and 37 (39%) similar. BristowLatarjet scored lowest, with 0% descriptions similar to the original, meaning that all articles had an undefined or divergent eponym, and Essex-Lopresti scored highest with 82% similarity. Conclusions Eponymous terms in shoulder and elbow trauma and surgery are used inadequately and inconsistently. The use of eponymous terms probably cannot be avoided, but since the majority of eponymous terms are not used properly and understanding of its meaning and content varies from surgeon to surgeon, we should be keen on explaining the meaning of eponymous terms when using them.

Interpretations of the Term “Watershed Line” Used as Reference for Volar Plating

“…19 As often occurs with new terms, over time alternations to the initial meaning can develop and might lead to incorrect use or understanding of the term. 47 In the index reference of the term "watershed line," the first definition Orbay used in 2005 was "the transverse ridge that distally limits the concave surface of the volar radius." 19 Later, on the website of the Eradius in 2008, Orbay in collaboration with Nelson, further defined the watershed line, but this time rephrased it as "a theoretical line marking the most volar aspect of the volar margin of the radius."…”

Fracture–dislocations of the forearm joint: a systematic review of the literature and a comprehensive locker-based classification system

“…The pattern of injury was clearly defined by Essex-Lopresti in 1951, and subsequently this injury has commonly been reported in literature with the eponymous term. Somford reported that most papers reported in literature agree in the description of anatomopathological findings, thus the eponymous term exactly identifies this pattern of forearm joint lesion [13]. Some variants of Essex-Lopresti injury have been rarely reported in literature.…”

“…Two-locker injuries 1.2I PRUJ dislocation-IOM rupture Rethnam [23], Sharma [24], Obert [25], El Ibrahimi [28], Watanabe [27], Koulali-Idrissi [29] 1.2 IU PRUJ dislocation-IOM rupture-ulna fracture Rehim [5] 1.2IR PRUJ dislocation-IOM rupture-radius fracture Rao [38], Haddad [39], Linzel [40], Mehara [41], Cherif [42], Simpson [45], Shamian [43], Singh [44] 1.2RIU PRUJ dislocation-IOM rupture-ulna fracture-radius fracture Ouakrim [63] 2I.3 IOM rupture-DRUJ dislocation Wassink [30], Szabo [31], Bruckner [32], Carlsen [33] 2IR 1.3 PRUJ dislocation-DRUJ dislocation Leung [9], Verettas [10], Potter [11], Nishi [12], Spicer [13], Papageorgiu [14], Wong [35], Tosun [36], Raghavendra [37] Three-locker injuries [19,41], closed reduction and percutaneous DRUJ pinning [15,18], and open reduction with radial head fixation or ligamentous repair [14,16,17]. In two-locker injuries with ulna and/or radius shaft fracture, forearm bones must undergo osteosynthesis.…”

“…These injuries were described during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and are usually reported in literature with the corresponding eponyms. However, in a recent systematic review of literature focused on the use of eponyms in shoulder and elbow surgery, Somford et al demonstrated that this use of eponymous terms is inadequate and inconsistent, because they are not used properly and their meaning varies from surgeon to surgeon [13].…”

Response to: Comparison of direct anterior, lateral, posterior and posterior-2 approaches in total hip arthroplasty: network meta-analysis. Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol, 2017 Sep 27, doi: 10.1007/s00590-017-2046-1 [Epub ahead of print]

“…The danger with eponymous terms lies in a wrong explanation of these terms and should be avoided [5].…”