Tim Spalding, FRSC Orth, knee surgeon and Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Warwick, UK added:
“’Single-Stage Multiple-Ligament Knee Reconstructions for Sports-Related Injuries: Outcomes in 194 Patients’ is the most comprehensive outcome analysis of a personal series of knee reconstructions that I have read.”
“Testament to the dedication to quality care and science-based improvement by Dr. LaPrade, resulting in benefit for patients worldwide as surgeons read and emulate this work.”
Carlos E. Franciozi, M.D., Ph.D., Post-Doc, associate professor, department of Orthopedic Surgery, head of the Orthopedic Surgery Residency Program and head of the Knee Group Research Program at Federal University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil sent OTW this wonderful accolade for Dr. LaPrade:
“Dr. Robert LaPrade pushes the limits of knee surgery and shows us how to improve our patients’ outcomes, especially the ones involving complex lesions. From the research lab to the operating room, he is a visionary and an example to be followed.”
“We look to him to continue leading the way by sharing his knowledge and expertise. It’s an honor to be involved with his projects and to apply his advanced techniques and philosophies for optimal treatment and understanding of knee injuries here in Brazil.”
The OFFICIAL 500th LaPrade Study!
Published during the summer in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, LaPrade’s 500th study analyzed 276 patients with multiple-ligament knee injuries who’d sustained those injuries from participating in sports between 2010 and 2016.
LaPrade’s team used multiple scoring methods including the Lysholm score, Tegner activity scale, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and 12-Item Short Form Health Survey Physical Component Summary to measure the enrolled patients before surgery and at a minimum of two-years post treatment.
LaPrade’s team wrote in their study that 194 (70.5%) of the patients had a complete follow-up at a mean 3.5 years (range, 2-8 years) and that, overall, all outcome scores improved as compared with preoperative scores (p < .001 for all scores).
“The median (first and third quartiles) Tegner activity score improved from 1 (0, 2) preoperatively to 6 (4,7) postoperatively. Median Lysholm and WOMAC scores improved from 41 (22, 57) to 90 (78, 95) and 44 (24, 60) to 3 (1, 8), respectively.”
In addition, the team did not find a significant difference between patients treated in the acute and chronic phases for PCL- and ACL-based multiple-ligament knee injuries. A little more than 9% of patients (18) developed arthrofibrosis and were treated with reintervention surgery.
LaPrade and his team concluded, “These results demonstrated that single-stage anatomic-based knee ligament reconstructions with immediate postoperative rehabilitation in the setting of sports-related multiligament injuries yielded significantly improved outcomes irrespective of the ligament injury pattern.”
And, with that, Dr. LaPrade drops the mic and walks off…to his next study.
