Unprecedented International Effort To Improve Safety Of Orthopedic Devices

Responding to a need for better post-market surveillance of orthopedic devices, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) established the International Consortium of Orthopaedic Registries (ICOR) in October 2010. As outlined in a Dec. 21 special online supplement in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, ICOR is in the process of developing a collaborative process for improving the safety of orthopedic devices using outcomes registries from the U.S. and other countries. The combined ICOR registries may include data on millions of orthopedic surgical procedures and all implantable devices on the market. More than 700, 000 joint replacement devices are implanted in patients in the U.

Physical Function Following Hip Replacement Surgery Improved By Walking Skills Program

Researchers in Norway report that patients who receive walking skills training following total hip arthroplasty for osteoarthritis show improved physical function. The physical therapy program displayed a positive effect on walking distance and stair climbing which continued 12 months following hip replacement surgery. Results of the study appear in Arthritis Care & Research, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). Osteoarthritis (OA) is a joint disease where loss of cartilage in affected joints such as the knees, hips, fingers or spine causes pain and stiffness that can be disabling. In some cases, the only treatment option for OA is total replacement of the joint, known as arthroplasty.

Variations In Spinal Cervical Fusion Reflect Lack Of Evidence

If you're having surgery for degenerative disc disease of the cervical (upper) spine, the technique your surgeon uses may depend on what part of the country you live in, suggests a study in the January issue of Spine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. Persistent regional variations highlight the need for solid scientific research on the techniques and outcomes of cervical spine surgery, according to the new report by Dr Kevin J. McGuire of Beth Israel Deaconess, Boston, and colleagues. As Number of Procedures Increases, Regional Variations Persist The researchers analyzed data from a quality improvement project of the American Board of Orthopedic Surgeons, in which Board-certified surgeons provided information on all surgeries performed over a six-month period.

Introducing A New Knee Replacement Model Increases The Likelihood Of Early Revision Surgery

Orthopaedic surgeons face a steep learning curve to get used to new prostheses, and the instruments and methods that go with them, before new total knee replacement procedures are as safe and effective as conventional methods. Patients who undergo the first 15 operations using a new device in a hospital are 48 percent more likely to need early revision surgery, than patients undergoing an operation to fit a prosthesis previously used in the hospital. The work by Mikko Peltola from the National Institute for Health and Welfare in Finland, and colleagues, is published online in Springer's journal, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. Total knee arthroplasty, or replacement, is an established treatment for patients with severe osteoarthritis of the knee.

Less Blood Needed Post-Surgery

Patients need less blood after surgery than is widely thought. A new study comparing two plans for giving blood transfusions following surgery showed no ill effects from postponing transfusion until patients develop signs of anemia or their hemoglobin concentration falls below 8 g/dL. Results of the National Heart and Lung and Blood Institute funded study are published in today's edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center is one of 47 centers participating in the FOCUS (Transfusion Trigger Trial for Functional Outcomes in Cardiovascular Patients Undergoing Surgical Hip Fracture Repair) study, led by Dr.

Bisphosphonates Can Extend Life Of Replacement Joint

According to a new study published on bmj.com, people who take bisphosphonates following joint replacement surgery tend to need less repeat surgery. A significant number of patients require repeat surgery within 10 years following their knee or hip replacement due to infection, loosening, wear or other mechanical failures, even though hip and knee replacements are cost effective procedures. According to some experts, oral bisphosphonates, used to prevent fractures and to treat common bone diseases like osteoporosis, could potentially improve the survival time of replacement joints through its ability to reduce bone resorption. However, there is only little and controversial evidence.

Simple, Model-Free Analysis Of Voltage-Gated Channels

A new study in the Journal of General Physiology * provides fresh insight into voltage-gated channels - transmembrane ion channels that play a critical role in the function of neuronal and muscle tissue. Voltage-gated ion channels underlie signaling of most electrically active cells. These important ion channels have long challenged physiologists with the question of how membrane voltage drives the structural transitions between closed and open states. For more than 60 years, researchers have tackled this question with elaborate models that rely on difficult-to-assess assumptions. A new study by Sandipan Chowdhury and Baron Chanda, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides a key analysis of the free energy of channel opening in a virtually model-free way.

Mimicking Periosteum To Heal Traumatic Bone Injury

A man-made package filled with nature's bone-building ingredients delivers the goods over time and space to heal serious bone injuries faster than products currently available, Cleveland researchers have found. Tested on sheep in Switzerland, the surgical elastic "implant device, " essentially a wrapping that mimics bone's own sock-like sheath called periosteum, delivered stem cells, growth factors and other natural components of the periosteum to heal a defect that would not heal on its own if left untreated. In experimental groups exhibiting best outcomes, a dense network of new bone filled the defect, from the surgical elastic wrapping on the outside towards the steel intramedullary nail that stabilized the bone on the inside, bridging old with new bone.

The Mystery Behind The Building Of Muscle

Researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have discovered two proteins that are essential for the fusion of muscle cells to build muscle fibres. Their discovery might help us better understand and treat illnesses such as muscle-wasting disorders and diseases of bone over-growth, in which cellular fusion is an important feature. Cellular fusion is necessary to form larger cells that have specific functions throughout growth. Among the tissues that depend on cell fusion are the placenta, skeletal muscle and bone reshaping cells. The team showed that Jamb and Jamc, two cell surface proteins, must directly interact on neighbouring cells so that they can fuse together and form a normal muscle fibre.

Bone Fractures Can Be Predicted By Dental X-Rays

It is now possible to use dental X-rays to predict who is at risk of fractures, reveals a new study from researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy reported in the journal Nature Reviews Endocrinology. In a previous study, researchers from the University of Gothenburg's Sahlgrenska Academy and Region VГ stra GГ taland demonstrated that a sparse bone structure in the trabecular bone in the lower jaw is linked to a greater chance of having previously had fractures in other parts of the body. X-rays investigates bone structure The Gothenburg researchers have now taken this a step further with a new study that shows that it is possible to use dental X-rays to investigate the bone structure in the lower jaw, and so predict who is at greater risk of fractures in the future.