Today’s Top Story
Study: Six factors may be linked with improved outcomes for shoulder arthroplasty.
Findings from a study published online in the journal Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research (CORR) suggest six preoperative patient factors that may be associated with improved outcomes following shoulder arthroplasty. The authors conducted a prospective study of 294 patients who underwent hemiarthroplasty, arthroplasty for cuff tear arthropathy, ream and run arthroplasty, total shoulder, or reverse total shoulder arthroplasty. At 2-year follow-up, they found that American Society of Anesthesiologists Class I, shoulder problem not related to work, lower baseline Simple Shoulder Test score, no prior shoulder surgery, humeral head not superiorly displaced on the anteroposterior radiograph, and glenoid type other than A1 were significantly associated with better outcomes. The authors note that neither preoperative glenoid version nor posterior decentering of the humeral head on the glenoid were associated with the outcomes. Read the abstract…

Other News

Study: Independent reviewers may identify more adverse events than surgeons.
According to a study published online in CORR, third-party reviewers may identify more minor adverse events than surgeons. The researchers compared adverse-event reporting by six surgeons and two independent clinical reviewers using the Spine Adverse Events Severity System Version 2 and the Orthopaedic Surgical Adverse Events Severity System in elective orthopaedic procedures. They collected adverse event data on 164 patients (48 patients spine surgery, 51 hip surgery, 34 knee surgery, and 31 shoulder surgery). The researchers write that surgeons captured 14 adverse events and the reviewers captured 99. They note that surgeons adequately captured major adverse events, but failed to record minor events that were captured by the reviewers. Overall, 93 of 99 (94 percent) adverse events reported by reviewers required only simple or minor treatment and had no long-term adverse effect, while three patients experienced adverse events that resulted in use of invasive or complex treatment that had a temporary adverse effect on outcome. Read the abstract…

Study: Is there a causal link between cellular senescence and OA?
Data presented online in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A suggest that there may be a causal link between cellular senescence and osteoarthritis (OA). The research team transplanted small numbers of senescent or nonsenescent cells from the ear cartilage of luciferase-expressing mice into the knee joint area of wild-type mice. They found that transplanting senescent cells into the knee region was associated with leg pain, impaired mobility, and radiographic and histological changes suggestive of OA, while transplanting nonsenescent cells was not associated with those effects. Read more…
Read the abstract…

Washington.
Modern Healthcare reports that a jury has found in favor of a surgeon who was sued by the daughter of a patient who died after a physician used a non-FDA-approved bone cement during the woman’s spinal surgery. The jurors determined that the physician did not act below the standard of medical care when he used the product. The patient died in the operating room in 2007, but the family didn’t learn until 2012 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had prohibited the product’s use for spinal procedures. In addition, the jury found that the physician had failed to inform the patient regarding risks associated with the product, but concluded that an informed person would have opted to use the cement anyway. Read more…(registration may be required)

AAOS requests member participation in Global Surgery payment survey.
On July 15, 2016, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule that includes a mandate to collect data about global surgery services. According to the proposal, beginning Jan. 1, 2017, surgeons providing 10- and 90-day global surgery services to Medicare patients will be required to report a new set of codes to document the type, level, and number of pre- and postoperative visits furnished during the global period for every surgery procedure provided to Medicare beneficiaries. Under this system, surgeons would be required to use a new set of G-codes to report on each 10-minute increment of services provided. In an effort to demonstrate to CMS the enormity of this task and its impact on patient care delivery, the surgical community, including the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), has launched this survey to collect information that will help with our advocacy efforts opposing this overly burdensome and unfunded data collection effort. Please take a few moments, before Aug. 24, 2016, to complete this brief survey. Access the survey…
Read the proposed rule…

Follow the new “AAOS Members” accounts on Twitter and Facebook.
The Academy has a new presence on social media especially for AAOS members! Follow @AAOSMembers on Twitter and AAOS Members on Facebook, where you’ll find content, news, and information relevant to you and your membership with AAOS, including:

  • Education and practice resources
  • Annual Meeting updates and news
  • Orthopaedic and medical news
  • Academy programs, products, and services

In addition, join our engaged community of AAOS members and orthopaedic professionals on the Academy’s other social media pages:

  • Follow @AAOSAdvocacy on Twitter to receive updates from the AAOS Office of Government Relations on AAOS advocacy issues
  • Visit the AAOS International Scholarship Facebook page to learn more about the International Scholarship Program
  • Follow AAOS on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn as your go-to source of musculoskeletal information for you and your patients

Follow @AAOSMembers on Twitter…
“Like” the AAOS Members Facebook page…

Last call: Committee positions closing soon!
A number of openings on the AAOS Committee Appointment Program website are closing Aug. 17. Act now to apply for the following positions:

  • Instructional Course Committees
    • Adult Reconstruction Hip (chair, three members)
    • Adult Reconstruction Knee (three members)
    • Foot and Ankle (three members)
    • Hand and Wrist (three members)
    • Pediatrics (three members)
    • Practice Management (one member)
    • Shoulder and Elbow (three members)
    • Spine (five members)
    • Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy (four members)
    • Trauma (one member)
    • Tumor (two members)
  • Program Committees
    • Adult Reconstruction Hip (chair, 17 members)
    • Adult Reconstruction Knee (chair, eight members)
    • Foot and Ankle (chair, one member)
    • Hand and Wrist (chair, two members)
    • Musculoskeletal Tumor & Metabolic Disease (chair, two members)
    • Pediatrics (chair, three members)
    • Practice Management/Rehabilitation (five members)
    • Shoulder and Elbow (chair, three members)
    • Spine (chair, seven members)
    • Sports Medicine/Arthroscopy (chair, seven members)
    • Trauma (chair, seven members)

Learn more and submit your application…(member login required)