Background: Orthopaedic surgery lags behind other specialties in the recruitment of women. Concerns about fertility, pregnancy, and childbearing may be a deterrent to women when considering orthopaedic surgery as a specialty. Methods: An anonymous 168-item survey was distributed to the members of Ruth Jackson Orthopedic Society and the Women in Orthopaedics, an online group exclusive to female orthopaedic surgeons. Respondents were queried regarding family planning, contraceptive length of use, fertility, perinatal work habits, age and stage at each pregnancy, pregnancy complications, and miscarriages. Results: Eight hundred one surveys were collected. Seven hundred fifty (94%) expressed interest in having children of their own, with 60% having at least one child at the time of the survey. The average maternal age at birth of the first child was 33.6 ± 3.6 years. Voluntary childlessness was reported by 6% (49/801) of survey respondents. Eighteen percent of this group stated that their choice as an orthopaedic surgeon served as a barrier to having children. Among those with children, childbearing was intentionally delayed by 53% because of their career choice (425/801). Fifty-two percent did not conceive their first child until the end of their training. Complications during pregnancy were reported among 24%. A total of 853 children were conceived by this cohort with assisted reproductive technology being used 106 times. Miscarriages were reported by 38% (304/801). Of those who miscarried, only 28% informed their employer and 8% took time off during or immediately after their miscarriage. Conclusion: Most respondents desire to have children but two-thirds delay doing so because of their career choice and its demands. Having a family is an important part of life for many orthopaedic surgeons, and our study provides an updated description of the fertility and pregnancy characteristics of female orthopaedic surgeons to help guide present and future surgeons in their family planning.

Patellar fracture morphology varies based on the mechanism of injury. Most fractures are either a result of direct impact or through an indirect eccentric extensor contraction injury. Each fracture pattern requires appropriate preoperative planning and individualization of the fixation method. Displaced fractures affect the extension apparatus, and often require surgical fixation. Surgical treatment is recommended in fractures with any of the following features: articular step-off > 2 mm, > 3 mm of fracture displacement, open fractures, and displaced fractures affecting the extensor mechanism. Meticulous handling of the soft-tissue envelope is of the utmost importance, given the patella's tenuous blood supply and limited soft-tissue envelope. Incongruent articular surface can result in detrimental long-term effects; therefore, surgical treatment is directed toward anatomic reduction and fixation. The evolution of patellar fracture fixation continues to maximize options to balance rigid fixation with low-profile fixation constructs. Improving functional outcomes, minimizing soft-tissue irritation, and limiting postoperative complications are possible by using the therapeutic principles of rigid anatomical fixation and meticulous soft-tissue handling.

Introduction Segmental bone loss is a challenging condition to manage, and some of the techniques employed are difficult for patients to tolerate and involve lengthy treatment and rehabilitation times. The Masquelet technique is a two-stage bone grafting technique used to treat segmental bone defects. The technique has primarily been described for bone defects averaging 5.5 cm in length. This technique's advantages include protection against autograft resorption, relative maintenance of graft position, and prevention of soft-tissue interposition. We present a case report of a male who achieved successful bone defect union utilizing the Masquelet technique for a right femoral shaft infected non-union with a resultant 20 cm bone defect. Case report This is a case report of a 28-year old male who presented to our clinic for evaluation and treatment for a segmental bone defect secondary to a right femur fracture with non-union after infection. The patient had been in a motor vehicle collision. Our patient was interested in limb salvage surgery and declined bone transport. Given the significant size of his defect, we opted to treat him utilizing the Masquelet technique. He went on to have a successful union of his defect with associated increased subjective quality of life and functionality. Conclusion The Masquelet technique is a useful limb salvage treatment for patients with segmental bone defects, including large defects of 20 cm in length.

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Category: Trauma Introduction/Purpose: Opioid pain medications are frequently prescribed after orthopedic surgery as effective tools for pain relief, but with adverse consequences such as addiction and overdose. Postoperative pain control can vary depending on patient opioid prescription history and pain expectations. There are limited studies regarding pain and anxiety levels following orthopedic foot and ankle trauma surgery, with a lack of formal guidelines in prescribing opioid medications to this patient population. The overall purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of postoperative pain and anxiety in patients undergoing outpatient foot and ankle trauma surgery. This study additionally sought to identify any risk factors that may predispose a patient to increased postoperative pain and anxiety, resulting in a potentially increased pain medication requirement. Methods: A subanalysis of 50 patients from a prospective, observational study was performed, examining adult patients undergoing outpatient foot and ankle trauma surgery performed by trauma fellowship-trained senior investigators. Patients were enrolled and given pertinent reference materials including access to an automated texting survey platform to collect data regarding their postoperative pain, anxiety, and opioid medication use. Patients were stratified by procedure type (irrigation & debridement/hardware removal, foot/syndesmosis ORIF, ankle ORIF, pilon ORIF) and by receiving perioperative regional anesthetic block versus local anesthetic. Pain and anxiety were measured with the Numeric Rating Scale for Pain (scale of 1-10) and the Visual Facial Anxiety Scale (scale of 1-5), respectively. The primary outcome measured was the number of days on average for a patient to discontinue opioid medication. Secondary endpoints consisted of pain level < 4, anxiety level < 2, patient-specific and surgery-related factors that may affect these variables. Results: Postoperatively, it took an average of 9.6 days until opioids were discontinued, 8.2 days for pain to subside below 4, and 6.6 days until anxiety reduced under 2. Foot/syndesmosis ORIF and older age were associated with prolonged pain medication use (p<0.05). Drug use and older age limited the chance of obtaining a pain score under 4 (p<0.05). Psychiatric history and older age decreased the odds of obtaining an anxiety score under 2 (p<0.05). White race improved the chance of obtaining an anxiety score under 2 and tapering off pain medications (p<0.05). When stratified by procedure type or analgesic adjuvants (regional block vs local), there were no significant differences in pain and anxiety scores. Conclusion: Our study shows that regardless of procedure type or analgesic adjuvant used, it takes approximately eight days for postoperative pain levels to decrease to 4 out of 10 and six days for anxiety levels to decrease to 2 out of 5, with patients requiring opioid pain medications for an average of 10 days. Risk factors such as older age, prior drug use, and psychiatric history increased postoperative pain, anxiety, and use of opioid pain medications. This data may be utilized by orthopedic surgeons in providing safe, effective, and evidence-based pain management prescribing practices in anticipating postoperative pain and anxiety.