Ask, Advise, Refer to Improve Surgical Outcomes

Frank B. Kelly, MD

It’s becoming increasingly clear that orthopaedic patients who smoke have worse outcomes than those who don’t. The clinical effects of smoking on bone and wound healing include longer times to union, higher rates of nonunion, and higher rates of infection and wound complications.

AJRR Continues to Expand

Jennie McKee

Momentum is building,” said David G. Lewallen, MD, chair of the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) board of directors, during an AJRR informational session at the 2012 AAOS Annual Meeting. “Multiple entities have committed to the effort.” Reflecting on “lessons learned,” Dr. Lewallen and the other registry representatives outlined the AJRR’s plans to expand the registry’s reach and recruit more institutions to participate. Lessons from the pilot program Kevin J.

Lessons Learned: What the BMP Trials Controversy Has Taught Us

Terry Stanton

That the Clinical Research Forum sponsored by the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) and devoted to “avoiding wrong turns” in the development of new products and therapies would include the issue of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) is no surprise.

Clinical Aspects of Cell Therapy in Orthopaedic Surgery

Stuart B. Goodman, MD; Lynne C. Jones, PhD

As mentioned last month, the gold standard for the treatment of abnormalities of bone healing is autogenous iliac crest bone graft. This construct contains all of the necessary elements for osteogenesis including viable osteoblasts and osteoprogenitor cells, growth factors and other important molecules, and a scaffold. Autologous bone grafting, however, can lead to painful scars and may be associated with complications such as local infection or fracture.

Tissue Engineering for Meniscal Tears

Jay D. Lenn

When meniscal tears occur in the avascular region of the meniscus, treatment options are limited. Removing the damaged tissue (resection) is the most common treatment. Although the surgery relieves pain and restores a certain degree of function, it also alters the way mechanical loads are transferred across the joint and often contributes to articular degeneration in the joint.

Large ACL Study Yields Clinical Insights for Treatment

Terry Stanton

Kurt P. Spindler, MD, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and co-investigators of the Multicenter Orthopaedic Outcomes Network (MOON), won the 2012 Kappa Delta Ann Doner Vaughan Award for the paper, “Prognosis and Predictors of ACL Reconstructions using the MOON Cohort: A Model for Comparative Effectiveness Studies.”