Purpose The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of the patients who underwent primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction surgery with either hamstring autograft or freeze-dried tibialis anterior allograft, which performed by the same surgeon using the same fixation technique. Methods In this retrospective study, patients who had primary ACL reconstruction using either four-strand hamstring autograft (FSH) or freeze-dried irradiated tibialis anterior allograft (FDT) between 2012 and 2015 were evaluated. Patients who were skeletally mature with a minimum follow-up of 24 months and who had no previous surgery from the affected knee were included; patients who had multiple ligament injuries or chondral lesions over Outerbridge grade 2 were excluded from the study. Patients were grouped according to the graft type used in ACL reconstruction. Tegner activity scale and Lysholm knee scoring scale were used to assess patients' activity levels and functional status preoperatively and at the final follow-up. KT-2000 arthrometer measurements were done at the final follow-up to evaluate anterior laxity. Results There were 27 patients (mean age 27 ± 8.9 years) in the FSH group and 36 patients (mean age 27.1 ± 6.7 years) in the FDT group. The mean follow-up time was 38.2 ± 3.5 months for the FSH group and 41 ± 6.1 months for the FDT group. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups when preoperative and postoperative Tegner-Lysholm scores were compared (Tegner P = 0.583, 0.742; Lysholm P = 0.592, 0.249). The mean anteroposterior laxity and side-to-side differences measured by KT-2000 were 4.1 mm and 2.1 mm for the FSH group, respectively; 4.2 mm and 2.2 mm for the FDT group, respectively. There was not a statistically significant difference (P = 0.745, 0.562 respectively). Conclusions Primary ACL reconstruction with a single loop freeze-dried irradiated tibialis anterior allograft revealed comparable results with four-strand hamstring autograft in non-athlete patients. Level of evidence Level III, Therapeutic study. ER -

Osteochondral lesions of the talus (OCLTs) secondary to ankle fractures have previously been reported in the literature. However, no study has evaluated OCLTs using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) following ankle fracture treatment. The purpose of our study was to investigate accompanying OCLTs in patients with an ankle fracture and evaluate its relationship with the clinical outcomes. Fifty-six patients with ankle fractures who were treated with either a nonoperative or operative method at our center between June 2016 and February 2017 were included in this prospective comparative study (37 men and 19 women; mean age, 44.6 ± 13 years; range, 20-65 years). The mean American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) scores were used to evaluate the clinical results in all patients in the second month and second year. The second-month ankle MR images were evaluated for OCLTs in all patients. Thirty patients were treated operatively and 26 nonoperatively. Accompanying OCLTs were detected in 19 of 56 patients (34%). Our results showed no statistically significant association between OCLT and fracture type, as well as the treatment type. In the second postoperative month, the mean AOFAS scores were 87.2 ± 10.8 and 77.6 ± 12.0 in patients with and without OCLTs, respectively (P = .005). In the second postoperative year, the mean AOFAS scores were 81.3 ± 6.8 and 86.2 ± 8.4 in patients with and without OCLTs, respectively (P = .031). The mean AOFAS score significantly decreased in the OCLT group in the second-year control, whereas a significant increase was observed in patients without OCLTs (P = .026 and P < .001, respectively). According to our results, the accompanying OCLTs were found in one-third of patients treated for ankle fractures. We observed a significant correlation between OCLT presence and the AOFAS score. According to the AOFAS score, OCLTs statistically significantly affected clinical results at 2 years. Level II, prospective comparative study.

Background and Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the difficulties faced by patients with knee osteoarthritis during the conservative treatment process. Materials and Methods: We included twenty-one patients who were diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis and admitted to the orthopedics and traumatology outpatient clinic of the hospital where the researcher worked between January 2022 and April 2022. We interviewed each patient using semi-structured face-to-face interviews. To analyze the interviews, the researcher used the directed content analysis method. Data were analyzed using the NVIVO 10 software package. The authors and the expert trained in qualitative research who generously supported the authors continued the analysis independently of each other until they reached a consensus. Results: After analysis of the interviews held with the participants, the following three main themes emerged: lack of information about conservative treatment, frequent change of physicians, and non-compliance with lifestyle changes. Two sub-themes were identified within the theme of frequent change of physicians: distrusting health personnel, and not being able to make an appointment. In addition, most of the patients were not knowledgeable enough about either the definition of the disease or the treatment process. These patients stated that they were confused because they had to change physicians frequently; thus, they distrusted physicians because each physician they visited made a different plan for the treatment process. Conclusions: At the end of the study, we determined that during the conservative treatment process of patients with knee osteoarthritis, a multidisciplinary approach should be adopted, and orthopedic surgeons, physical therapy and rehabilitation physicians, dietitians, and physiotherapists should be in harmony with the patient. In addition, health personnel should provide patients with detailed information to eliminate questions they have during the conservative treatment process. In order for healthcare team members to establish a trusting relationship between the patients, they should allocate enough time to the patient.

End-stage temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders often necessitate total joint replacement, and the selection of biomaterial directly impacts long-term outcomes. Ti6Al4V and CoCrMo are commonly used alloys, yet their biomechanical performance in patient-specific prostheses remains insufficiently compared. This study aimed to evaluate the mechanical response of custom TMJ prostheses fabricated from these alloys using finite element analysis (FEA). A three-dimensional mandibular model was created from computed tomography data, and a patient-specific prosthesis was designed in SolidWorks (Dassault Systèmes, SolidWorks Corp., Waltham, MA, USA) and analyzed in ANSYS Workbench 2022 R1 (Ansys Inc., Canonsburg, PA, USA). Physiological loading was simulated by applying forces at the insertion sites of the temporalis, masseter, and medial pterygoid muscles. In the Ti6Al4V model, maximum von Mises stresses reached 192.18 MPa on the mandibular component and 92.004 MPa on the fossa prosthesis, whereas the CoCrMo model demonstrated higher stresses of 204.31 MPa and 94.182 MPa, respectively. Both alloys exhibited similar stress distributions, but Ti6Al4V generated lower stress magnitudes, indicating more favorable load transfer and a reduced risk of mechanical overload on articulating components. These findings underscore the significance of alloy selection in optimizing TMJ prostheses and demonstrate the value of FEA as a tool for guiding future patient-specific designs.

Objectives: This study aims to compare the clinical results of patients rehabilitated with or without a rehabilitative knee brace (RKB) after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Patients and methods: This retrospective, comparative study was conducted at between January 2013 and December 2017. A total of 119 patients (112 males, 7 females; mean age: 32.0±8.6 years; range, 18 to 45 years) with acute ACL ruptures treated with arthroscopic ACL reconstruction and rehabilitated with (n=56) or without RKB (n=63) participated in the study. The minimum follow-up time was 24 months. The ACL quality of life (QoL) questionnaire, Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale, and Tegner Activity Level Scale were used for the evaluation of the QoL, knee function, and activity level, respectively. The time to return to sports was recorded. The side-to-side difference in the anterior translation of the tibia was measured using a KT-1000 arthrometer. Results: The mean follow-up time was 38.4±9.1 (range, 24 to 56) months. Baseline demographics and clinical characteristics were similar between groups. Regarding QoL, knee function, and activity level, no significant difference was observed between patients who used RKB and those who did not use it at the postoperative 12 ^th month (p=0.95, p=0.56, p=0.98, respectively) and the latest follow-up (p=0.21, p=0.73, p=0.99, respectively). The mean time to return to sports (nearly 11 months for both groups) and side-to-side difference in the anterior tibial translation at the latest follow-up was also similar between groups (p=0.15 and p=0.15, respectively). There was no graft rupture during the follow-up in both groups. The complication rates were 7.9% and 7.1% for no brace and brace groups, respectively, without a statistically significant difference (p=0.87). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, there was no significant difference between the rehabilitative brace and no brace groups in clinical outcomes after ACL reconstruction.