Short-term functional outcome in children with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita after multiple surgeries at an early age

Moutasem M Obeidat,1 Ziad Audat,1 Wadah Khriesat21Department of Orthopedic Surgery, 2Department of Pediatrics, Jordan University of Science and Technology – King Abdullah University Hospital, Irbid, JordanPurpose: The purpose of this study is to report our short-term functional outcome for 14 children with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC) who underwent multiple surgical procedures at an early age.Methods: During the period 2002–2010, 14 children (11 males and three females) with AMC underwent multiple surgical procedures to treat deformities of the lower and upper limbs. About 81 procedures were performed, at a rate of 5.9 procedures per child. The mean age at the last follow-up was 5.9 years. The average follow-up period was 3.6 years (range, 1.5–6 years). The functional outcome assessment included walking ability and the activities of daily living for the upper limb function.Results: At the last follow-up visit, six (43%) children (four males, two females) with a mean age of 8.3 years (range, 4–15) were independent walkers. Three children (males) with a mean age of 3.5 years (range, 2.5–5) were able to walk, but with support. One child (male), 3 years old, was a household ambulator. Three children (two males, one female) with a mean age of 4.2 years (range, 2.5–6) were nonfunctional ambulators. The last child (male) was nonambulatory at the age of 5 years. Activities of daily living were severely affected in the nonambulatory child. One child in the nonfunctional ambulators group had limitations in the activities of daily living; however, upper limb function was not affected in the remaining 12 children.Conclusion: We believe that aggressive surgical treatment using multiple operations at an early age can improve the short-term functional and clinical outcomes of children with AMC.Keywords: deformity, multiple surgeries, functional outcom

Percutaneous femoral de-rotational varus osteotomy for the treatment of acetabular dysplasia: surgical technique

Pediatric acetabular dysplasia is common in orthopedic practice. Femoral de-rotational varus osteotomy (FDVO) is one of the surgical options suggested for treatment. In this article, we describe a simplified surgical technique of performing FDVO percutaneously using a pediatric Limb Reconstruction System external fixator, and we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the technique

Anterior versus posterior approach to treat cervical spondylotic myelopathy, clinical and radiological results with long period of follow-up

Background: Cervical spondylotic myelopathy increases with age, but not all cases are symptomatic. It is usually diagnosed clinically and radiologically (X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging). Surgical treatment is indicated in severe symptomatic cases, while treatment controversy exists in the presence of less severe cases. Anterior and posterior approaches are generally used for decompression with no significant differences in the results of both. Methods: A total of 287 patients of cervical spondylotic myelopathy were treated at our hospital between January 2004 and December 2015. Only 140 patients were eligible for our study. They had at least 5 years of follow-up using full clinical scores and radiological evaluation. They were divided into two groups: group I with 73 patients (aged 23–79 years) underwent posterior decompression, lateral mass instrumentation, and fusion, while group II with 67 patients (aged 33–70 years) underwent anterior decompression, instrumentation, and fusion. Neck Disability Index, local score, and X-ray were used in the evaluation of the patients. Results: Preoperative mean ± standard deviation of Neck Disability Index of both the groups was 32.06 ± 6.33 and 29.88 ± 5.48, which improved in the last visit (>5 years) to 5.81 ± 7.39 and 2.94 ± 5.48 for groups I and II, respectively (p value <0.05). The local score of groups I and II was (P = 1, F = 21, G = 31, E = 19) and (P = 1, F = 12, G = 36, E = 18), which on discharge day improved to (P = 1, F = 4, G = 12, E = 55) and (P = 0, F = 3, G = 6, E = 58) at last follow-up, respectively. Fusion rate was nearly equal for both the groups during all the follow-up intervals and it was 91.1% and 91.7% in the last follow-up. Conclusion: There were no significant differences in the clinical and radiological results between the anterior and posterior approaches used in the surgical treatment of spondylotic cervical myelopathy. However, statistically significant results of Neck Disability Index of anterior approach were not clinically important and may be due to changes in the size and shape of the neck in group II

Comparison of rigid and semi-rigid instrumentation under acute load on vertebrae treated with posterior lumbar interbody fusion/transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion procedures: An experimental study

Rigid and semi-rigid fixations are investigated several times in order to compare their biomechanical stability. Interbody fusion techniques are also preferable for maintaining the sagittal balance by protecting the disk height. In this study, the biomechanical comparison of semi-rigid and rigid fixations with posterior lumbar interbody fusion or transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion procedures is conducted under trauma. There were four different test groups to analyze the effect of acute load on treated ovine vertebrae. First and second groups were fixed with polyetheretherketone rods and transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion and posterior lumbar interbody fusion cages, respectively. Third and fourth groups were fixed with titanium rods and posterior lumbar interbody fusion and transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion cages, respectively. The drop tests were conducted with 7 kg weight. There were six samples in each group so the drop test repeated 24 times in total. The test samples were photographed and X-rayed (laterally and anteroposteriorly) before and after drop test. Two fractures were observed on group 1. Conversely, there were no fractures observed for group 2. There were no anterior element fractures for both groups 1 and 2. However, one fracture seen on group 3 was anterior element fracture, whereas the other three were posterior element fractures. All three fractures were anterior element fractures for group 4. Treated vertebrae with polyetheretherketone rods and posterior lumbar interbody fusion cages showed the best durability to the drop tests among the groups. Semi-rigid fixation gave better results than rigid fixation according to failed segments. Posterior lumbar interbody fusion cages seem to be better option for semi-rigid fixation, however mentioned surgical disadvantages must be considered

Biomechanical comparison of transdiscal fixation and posterior fixation with and without transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion in the treatment of L5–S1 lumbosacral joint

Transdiscal screw fixation is generally performed in the treatment of high-grade L5–S1 spondylolisthesis. The main thought of the study is that the biomechanical performances of the transdiscal pedicle screw fixation can be identical to standard posterior pedicle screw fixations with or without transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion cage insertion. Lumbosacral portions and pelvises of 45 healthy lambs’ vertebrae were dissected. Animal cadavers were randomly and equally divided into three groups for instrumentation. Three fixation systems, L5–S1 posterior pedicle screw fixation, L5–S1 posterior pedicle screw fixation with transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion cage insertion, and L5–S1 transdiscal pedicle screw fixation, were generated. Axial compression, flexion, and torsion tests were conducted on test samples of each system. In axial compression, L5–S1 transdiscal fixation was less stiff than L5–S1 posterior pedicle screw fixation with transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion cage insertion. There were no significant differences between groups in flexion. Furthermore, L5–S1 posterior fixation was stiffest under torsional loads. When axial compression and flexion loads are taken into consideration, transdiscal fixation can be alternatively used instead of posterior pedicle screw fixation in the treatment of L5–S1 spondylolisthesis because it satisfies enough stability. However, in torsion, posterior fixation is shown as a better option due to its higher stiffness