Seventy patients with patellar tendon or hamstring tendon autografts for single-incision anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction were evaluated at least 2 years after surgery. All reconstructions were performed by the same surgeon, and metal interference screws were used for fixation of all grafts. No significant differences were noted between groups for Lysholm score, reduction in activity, KT-1000 arthrometer findings, quadriceps muscle size, return to sports, or ability to jump and do hard cuts and pivots. Significantly more patients in the patellar tendon group had patellofemoral pain at 6 months after surgery than did the hamstring tendon patients (48% versus 20%), and at last follow-up the incidence of patellofemoral pain was 42% and 20%, respectively. Fourteen patients in the patellar tendon group and seven in the hamstring tendon group had loss of motion (approximately 5 degrees ). Four patients (two in each group) had treatment failures and their results were not included in the clinical examination data. At 2 years' follow-up, 97% of patients with patellar tendon grafts and 100% of patients with hamstring tendon grafts rated their results as good or excellent. We found that hamstring tendon grafts performed similarly to patellar tendon grafts, although fewer patients in the hamstring tendon group had patellofemoral pain and loss of motion.

No abstract

The tensile strengths of various suture techniques were studied in vitro using rabbit Achilles' and flexor digitorum longus tendons. Two new suture methods, a Double and Triple (modified) Kessler, were compared with the Savage, Indiana and modified Kessler techniques. All were core sutures without epitendinous sutures. All suture techniques were found to be significantly different for 2 mm of gap formation. The study found the Savage technique strongest, followed by the Triple Kessler, the Double Kessler, and finally the Indiana. The Double Kessler was almost twice as strong as the modified Kessler. This study also compared two four-stranded techniques (the Indiana and Double Kessler) and found the Double Kessler stronger. The Double Kessler is a simple yet strong suture and may be useful for flexor tendon repairs.

No abstract

Patients admitted to the authors' institution with tibial osteomyelitis between 1978 and 1998 were reviewed. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence, etiology, treatment, and outcome in chronic pediatric tibial osteomyelitis. The authors describe their treatment of chronic osteomyelitis in children resistant to previous therapeutic modalities. Thirty patients were identified with a mean age of 8.5 years at diagnosis. Mean age at admission was 9.6 years, indicating more than a 1-year duration of disease. Follow-up averaged 2.3 years. Patients underwent 97 procedures, averaging 3.2 procedures per patient. Hospital stay ranged from 2 weeks to 18 months, with an average stay of 4.7 months. Seventy-seven percent of patients were culture-positive, and 78% of positive cultures identified Staphylococcus aureus as the causative pathogen. Eighty percent of patients had a good outcome, 13% had a fair outcome, and there were no poor results. Patients with large tibial defects obtained good results with both tibiofibular synostosis and Ilizarov distraction osteogenesis. The authors describe the only reported group of pediatric patients successfully treated using Ilizarov bone transport for bony tibial defects due to osteomyelitis.