Author: Sorin Lăzărescu

Open treatment options in massive rotator cuff tears associated with acromion non-union

We evaluated the available English literature for cases of acromion non-union and rotator cuff tear, looking at surgical methods of treatment as well as at functional results. As expected, the literature regarding rotator cuff pathology was found to be abundant, and a good number of articles were found regarding acromion non-union, but articles concerning the association of the two were scarce. Treatment recommendations varied, and were made on a case-to-case fashion. The accepted treatment methods for acromion non-union consist of non-surgical management, open or arthroscopic fragment removal, open or arthroscopic reduction and fixation (bone grafting may be used), while the rotator cuff witll be reinserted with anchors. In this rare occurence, a large rotator cuff tear with retracted tendons combined with an acromion non-union are usually repaired by an open technique in an one-stage surgery, with good results. In order to chose the right treatment option scapular kinematics must be taken into consideration especially when acromial fractures are associated with rotator cuff tears.

Anatomical study of the anterolateral ligament in Romanian population

The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the existence of the anterolateral ligament of the knee in the Romanian population. Multiple studies have investigated the anterolateral structures of the knee, but there is some inconsistency regarding the existence of the anterolateral ligament. Materials and methods: A cadaver dissection study was performed on 10 knees (5 left and 5 right), 3 males and 2 females Results: The anterolateral ligament was observed in all 10 knees. The mean length was 32±6mm, the width was 5.1±2 mm, and the thickness at the articular line was 1.1±5 mm. Conclusions: A 100% presence was found, with a slight difference from the length, width, and thickness in other countries, race not being a decisional factor in differences.

Artificial Intelligence in cardiovascular medical imaging

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an important tool for computer-aided diagnosis of medical imaging. This review aims to provide an overview for clinicians, explaining the relevant aspects of artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) and presenting up-to-date applications of AI and ML techniques to medical imaging methods such as angiography, magnetic resonance, and echocardiography. For each imaging method, we present the acquisition process, the types of diagnostic test interpretation, and the challenges related to them, as well as how AI/ML techniques, have improved the process of decision making. A summary of selected works applying AI/ML techniques to medical imaging is organized into a table, which highlights the scope of the study, the dataset used, the details of each approach as well as the measured results, including objectives and criteria. The overall benefits of AI in medical imaging are extracted based on the diverse applications and high evaluation scores. In the end, cardiologists should have an advanced understanding of using AI to integrate clinical data and making the final decision in diagnosis.