Making the Case for Orthopaedic Procedures

Madeleine Lovette

The explosive growth in the number of costly orthopaedic procedures—including joint replacements, back surgeries, and other treatments—has attracted the attention of legislators, payers, employers, and experts in both health care and economics. Without scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of these procedures, many of these critics are beginning to ask questions.

Treating tendons, bones, and cartilage with PRP

Kaye Daugherty; Mary Ann Porucznik

A report from the AAOS Now PRP Forum Versions of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) have been used to treat everything from plantar fasciitis to rotator cuff repair. But its effects differ, depending on the musculoskeletal structure and the composition of the PRP itself. Understanding how PRP affects the healing processes of various musculoskeletal tissues is critical to determining the appropriate type of PRP for specific injuries. The PRP Forum, sponsored by AAOS Now and held on Feb.

Developing cell-based therapies for articular cartilage injury

Jay D. Lenn

OREF grant recipient looks for keys to chondrogenesis Articular cartilage has a limited capacity to repair itself once it is damaged. The cartilage has no direct blood supply, and its chondrocytes are sequestered in tiny cavities in a matrix that prevents the migration of cells to the point of injury. Although surgical treatments can repair or replace damaged cartilage, these procedures do not restore its normal structure, composition, and function.

Stem cell therapy in orthopaedics

Diego Correa, MD, MSc, PhD; Victor M. Goldberg, MD

Musculoskeletal injuries are a major financial burden to the U.S. health system and the most common cause of long-term pain and physical disabilities. More than 33 million injuries are reported in the United States annually; nearly half involve soft tissues such as cartilage, tendon, and ligament. Unlike bone, which has an intrinsically high healing capacity, soft tissues have a limited capacity for self-repair.

Using bone quality to assess fracture risk

Adele L. Boskey, PhD

Fracture risk is generally assessed by clinicians based on the amount of bone that is present (bone quantity), measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans, and reported as a two-dimensional measurement of bone mineral density (BMD) or as a T- or Z-score that compares that BMD to the average value for a 25-year-old white woman (T-score), or an age-, gender-, and sex-matched average (Z-score).

OREF thanks CEO Gene Wurth

Sharon Johnson

The Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF) hosted an open house June 29, 2011, at AAOS headquarters in Rosemont to thank Gene R. Wurth for his service as the foundation’s chief executive officer from September 2000 through June 2011, and to celebrate milestones achieved during his tenure. “Gene Wurth guided OREF through some rough waters and leaves it poised for further growth,” said William P. Cooney III, MD, past president of OREF’s board of trustees.