Wishing to give back to HSS for the care he received and inspired by how building Legos provided comfort and purpose during his own recovery, Devin hopes the sets he creates will encourage young patients and lift their spirits.

He came up with the idea one day while recalling his stay at HSS after surgery. “I shared a room with a boy my age who had cerebral palsy,” Devin explained. “He told me that he had 11 surgeries throughout his life. I thought about how Legos could help patients like him who are facing boredom, a lack of purpose, and other challenges, just like Legos helped me in my own recovery.”

To obtain used Lego donations, Devin and his mother posted a request in a Facebook Moms group. Boxes of Legos containing thousands of bricks—many random pieces—came pouring in! He uses an app that gives him ideas to create kits with 50 to 100 Lego bricks.

Patient Antonia Marotta of Long Island was pleasantly surprised to receive Devin’s gift at Lerner Children’s Pavilion this week. “It makes me feel great; it was really nice. Recovery can be really hard, so having something to do makes it a lot easier,” said 15-year-old Antonia.  

Antonia’s mother, Laura, was moved by Devin’s thoughtful gift. “The donation means a lot to us because the days are long here, so it’s been great to have something to pass the time,” she said. “But I think more importantly, it means a lot more coming from someone that actually sat in this hospital in this bed and really understands what it feels like to go through something like this.” 

Devin’s Injury

The Connecticut teenager suffered one of the worst knee injuries imaginable during a long jump event, tearing all four ligaments and dislocating his knee. After complex reconstructive surgery at HSS, the accomplished high school athlete faced a long and challenging recovery. His parents had an idea: could assembling Legos provide a welcome diversion, even comfort him? It worked!

“Building those huge Lego sets kept my mind sharp and kept my spirits up,” Devin explained. Unable to drive, play sports, work, or go places with his friends, he says the activity gave him a purpose during his 10-month recovery.

Referred to HSS for “One of the Most Challenging Surgeries”

After his injury, Devin and his parents consulted with several orthopedic surgeons in Connecticut. Due to the difficult surgery involved, he was referred to Dr. Anil Ranawat, Chief of Hip and Knee Preservation of the Sports Medicine Institute at HSS in New York City. “The surgeons we had consulted before Dr. Ranawat said it was a rare and complicated case, and they didn’t feel comfortable doing the surgery,” explained Jennifer Crowley, Devin’s mom.

“Tearing all four knee ligaments is one of the most devastating sports injuries someone can have,” Dr. Ranawat explains. “It is also one of the most challenging reconstructive surgeries to perform because you’re working around the nerves and arteries in the knee that must be protected.”

Dr. Ranawat performed what orthopedic surgeons call an “around the world surgery,” reconstructing all the ligaments in Devin’s knee. It took seven hours in the O.R.    

After his successful surgery, they kept in touch with phone calls and texts if Devin had a question in between doctor visits. “Devin was a phenomenal patient, he worked really hard. We became like friends,” Dr. Ranawat said. “It’s important to develop trust with your patients; you build a bond with them.”  

When Devin wanted to try the high jump wearing a brace after many months of rehab, Dr. Ranawat asked Devin to send him videos so he could monitor his progress. Now recovered, Devin recently broke his own record for the sport.  

A “Pass the Bricks” Ambassador

Devin is an ambassador for “Pass the Bricks,” a national nonprofit organization whose volunteers collect discarded Lego sets and parts to repurpose and rebuild them for kids who may not have access to the toy. Designing and assembling sets from random Lego bricks is painstaking work. In between schoolwork and applying to college, Devin says he is happy to devote the time needed if he can brighten the day of young patients at HSS.

The new Spine Center joins two additional facilities HSS recently opened to expand its footprint in Northern New Jersey: HSS Paramus – Midland Ave, a full-service outpatient center; and the HSS Northern NJ Surgery Center in Mahwah, which marks the first-ever HSS surgery center dedicated to ambulatory procedures in the state. Together, these facilities provide Bergen County residents and beyond with greater access to world-class surgical and non-surgical care across a broad range of specialties.

“HSS has long set the standard for excellence and innovation in spinal care,” said HSS President and CEO and Surgeon-in-Chief Emeritus, Bryan T. Kelly, MD, MBA. “Together with the HSS Northern NJ Surgery Center and HSS Paramus – Midland Avenue, the Spine Center reflects our commitment to making high-quality care accessible to local communities as well as the growing need for spine services in New Jersey.”

A key feature of the center is its integrated approach to spinal health. A multidisciplinary team of experts—including specialists in spine surgery, pain management, neurology, physiatry, and radiology—work together to deliver consistent, first-rate care.  

“Each of our physicians specializes in treating people with conditions and injuries affecting the spine,” said Anil S. Ranawat, MD, a sports medicine surgeon and medical director of the HSS Spine Center in Paramus. “This high degree of expertise and collaboration ensure that each patient receives an individualized treatment plan tailored to their specific needs, supporting optimal outcomes and continuity of care.”

The spine center, located at 140 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Suite 175S, spans 14,000 square feet and includes 11 exam rooms.

“The HSS Spine Center provides specialized care for all types of conditions and injuries affecting the back and neck, from the most common problems to the highly complex, including scoliosis,” said Andrew A. Sama, MD, a spine surgeon and co-chief of HSS Spine. “Our team includes physicians with expertise in the latest nonsurgical approaches, as well as skilled spine surgeons with advanced training and special expertise.”

At HSS, conservative treatment is always the first line of care, while surgery is the last resort, said Sheeraz Qureshi, MD, MBA, a spine surgeon and co-chief of HSS Spine. “A variety of therapies are available to address pain, prevent further damage and help patients regain mobility without the need for surgery,” he explained. “However, if it is needed, HSS spine surgeons are at the forefront of robotic-assisted and minimally invasive procedures that are beneficial for patients.”

Surgeries are performed at the HSS Northern NJ Surgery Center in Mahwah or at the main hospital in Manhattan.

For more information about the HSS Spine Center, please visit: www.hss.edu/njspine

First introduced in the late 1800’s, the procedure, called knee osteotomy, involves cutting and reshaping the shinbone or thighbone to relieve pressure on the knee joint. It was initially used as a common treatment for arthritis and later for various orthopedic conditions and injuries, but it became less popular with the advent of the modern knee replacement in the 1970s. Nevertheless, surgeons continued to use and refine the technique. Today, the approach is used to fix bowleg deformity and prevent the need for knee replacement surgery, which carries a higher risk of complications particularly in people under age 50.  

Bowleg deformity is an incorrect alignment around the knee that can affect people of all ages. The many causes of bowleg syndrome range from illnesses such as Blount’s disease to improperly healed fractures and vitamin deficiencies.

Patients who had knee osteotomy reported positive outcomes and significant improvements in quality of life, according to a comprehensive review of the literature on the technique that was led by Anil S, Ranawat, MD, Chief of the Hip and Knee Division of the Sports Medicine Institute at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS). High patient satisfaction rates included less pain, better movement, and very few complications after the surgery, which helped delay or avoid the need for knee replacement in the vast majority of cases. The results are being presented at the AOSSM annual meeting.

“The development of new technologies, such as digital software planning, advanced CT imaging, and other patient-specific tools, is enabling us to resolve patients’ knee pain and preserve their knee function for a longer period of time,” explains Dr. Ranawat. “This modern evolution of an old operation has helped us tailor these procedures so that they are done in the safest, most precise way possible.”

Osteotomy is no longer a one-size-fits-all approach. “These improved outcomes were made possible by the advent of patient-specific instrumentation (PSI), in which a surgeon uses a patient’s CT scan and digital software to do a virtual surgery and plan the ideal operation tailored to the individual’s anatomy and needs,” explains Dr. Ranawat, an expert in joint restoration and preservation.

The development of knee replacement surgery in the 1970s caused surgeons to recommend knee osteotomy less frequently, however younger patients under age 50 tended not to do well with it due to high rates of infection and other complications. In addition, knee replacements have a life span of about 15 to 20 years, so younger patients often need a second operation when their knees fail.

“New patient-specific technologies have revolutionized the safety and precision of osteotomy, even more than knee replacement, so now if we do an osteotomy on a 25- or 30-year-old, the operation could last 40 years,” says Dr. Ranawat. “This is why joint preservation has been our goal at HSS over the last two decades. We are taking a much more proactive approach to offering knee osteotomy in younger patients to ideally avoid knee replacement altogether.”

HSS has been a thought leader in knee osteotomy for many years and is using all different forms of modern technology to improve surgical precision and patient outcomes. Dr. Ranawat and his colleagues will continue to build on the benefits of PSI, integrating the latest tools and technology to redefine joint preservation.

“We want our younger patients to know they don’t have to live with pain or rush into a knee replacement,” said Dr. Ranawat. “This is about preserving function and quality of life for the long haul. Incorporating artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced imaging will lead to smarter PSI systems​ and open the door to robotic-assisted surgeries that could revolutionize knee osteotomy in the future,” he says.

Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), the world’s leading academic medical center specialized in musculoskeletal health, has expanded access for people in Northern New Jersey with the opening of two new facilities: HSS Paramus – Midland Ave, a full-service outpatient center (OPC) in Paramus; and the HSS Northern NJ Surgery Center in Mahwah, which marks the first-ever HSS surgery center dedicated to ambulatory procedures in the state. The facilities offer Bergen County residents greater access to world-class surgical and non-surgical care across a broad range of specialties.

“HSS has led the fields of orthopedics and rheumatology in quality and patient experience for 161 years,” said HSS President and CEO Bryan T. Kelly, MD, MBA. “The HSS Northern NJ Surgery Center in Mahwah and HSS Paramus – Midland Ave are more than just facilities—they're purpose-built extensions of the main hospital, offering the same sophisticated, highly specialized care but in a more accessible location. They reflect our commitment to serving communities by expanding care through innovation and strategic growth across the tri-state region and beyond.”

The HSS Northern NJ Surgery Center is a 7,700-square-foot facility conveniently located at 400 Franklin Turnpike, just 10 miles away from HSS Paramus – Midland Ave. The center features three operating rooms, eight pre- and post-surgical bays and on-site central sterile processing.

The Mahwah surgery center will focus on specialized care for conditions and injuries of the hip and knee, spine, foot and ankle, hand and wrist, as well as sports medicine surgery. Michael P. Ast, MD, chief of the Knee Service, Chief Medical Innovation Officer and Director of Ambulatory Surgery Center Strategy at HSS, serves as the Medical Director.

“With the advanced technologies we’ve implemented at our ambulatory surgery center, we’re now able to safely perform a wider range of complex procedures that were once only possible in a hospital setting,” said Dr. Ast. “By expanding access in New Jersey, more patients can receive timely outpatient procedures, reducing wait times, hospital burdens, and the need to travel into New York City. At the same time, our new center is fully integrated with our main hospital, ensuring patients benefit from the same world-class diagnosis and treatment options.”

HSS Paramus – Midland Ave, located at 15 E. Midland Ave, Suite 1A, features 23 exam rooms and highly specialized physicians and staff to offer care for conditions and injuries of the foot and ankle, hand and upper extremities, hip and knee, and spine; endocrinology/metabolic bone diseases; pediatric orthopedics; physiatry; rheumatology; and sports medicine.

The nearly 31,000-square-foot facility is double the size of the existing OPC, HSS Paramus – Ridgewood Ave, allowing for an expansion of services and a state-of-the-art imaging suite including MRI, x-ray, and EOS low-dose radiation imaging. A special procedures unit for injection therapy and other advanced interventions is also available at this site. Additionally, HSS Orthopedics Now, providing quicker access to orthopedic care for sudden injuries and pain for patients 12 years and older, is available.

“I am deeply honored to lead HSS Paramus into its next chapter,” said Anil S. Ranawat, MD, sports medicine surgeon at HSS and medical director of HSS Paramus – Midland Ave. “This new facility is an exciting milestone in our unending pursuit to make comprehensive care even more accessible, enabling patients to complete their entire care journey—including testing, surgery, and more—right here in New Jersey.”

The new sites join the existing HSS location in Paramus on East Ridgewood Avenue. For more information about HSS Paramus-Midland Ave and HSS Northern NJ Surgery Center, visit www.hss.edu/locations.

HSS will co-sponsor the 18th Winter Meeting of the Ranawat Orthopaedic Conference (ROC) “Advances & Techniques in Joint Replacement Surgery & Arthroscopy.”

The three-day annual conference will include sports- and arthroplasty-focused educational sessions with topics such as recent developments in robotic surgery, computerized navigation, cementless total knee replacement, and unicondylar knee replacement.

“HSS is proud to co-sponsor the Ranawat Orthopaedic Conference, an impactful educational conference that advances the field of musculoskeletal medicine through knowledge-sharing and education,” said Laura Robbins, DSW, senior vice president, HSS Education Institute.

The conference is presented by the Ranawat Orthopaedic Center in New York, NY, and is co-directed by HSS hip and knee surgeon Amar S. Ranawat, MD and HSS sports medicine surgeon, Anil S. Ranawat, MD.

This year’s conference will include presentations and clinical case discussions by Drs. Anil and Amar Ranawat. Additional speakers at this year’s Winter Meeting will include Dr. Daniel J. Berry, Dr. Thorsten Gehrke, Dr. Kevin D. Plancher, and Dr. Victor Ilizaliturri.

The conference will take place on January 9-11, 2020 at Grand Hyatt in Mumbai.

The Ranawat Orthopaedic Research Foundation has supported orthopedic research and education in the United States and Asia. With Dr. Ranawat as chairman, the foundation collaborates with pioneers around the world to promote the goal of training orthopedic surgeons in joint reconstruction surgery and delivering high-value care to patients.

Reconstruction is the current standard of care surgical treatment for tears of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). This procedure typically uses a graft, or a piece of tissue, placed in the knee minimally invasively, using small incisions. About 300,000 ACL reconstructions are performed annually in the United States with well documented rates of success.

ACL repair is an older technique that involved suturing (sewing) torn ACL tissue, not rebuilding it with a graft. ACL repair was performed in the 1970s at select institutions, including Hospital for Special Surgery, but was abandoned due to unacceptably high failure rates of up to 50%.

Today, ACL repair has been modernized and can be performed through a minimally invasive approach. Proponents suggest that modern ACL repair techniques may be performed safely and may lead to a quicker recovery than ACL reconstruction. However, the limited studies to date raise questions that must be discussed in detail with your surgeon.

1. It is critically important to get ACL surgery right the first time.

When ACL surgery fails, surgeons must do a revision procedure to correct or revise the problems that were not fully addressed the first time. Revision requires reconstructive ACL surgery with a graft. (ACL repairs cannot be done as revisions.) Redoing ACL surgery may result in higher rates of failure, lower rates of return to sports, and increased risk of osteoarthritis.

The importance of successful initial ACL surgery holds true for people of all ages, but it is particularly critical for young athletes, for whom a failed surgery can have devastating consequences, including years lost from sport in the short term as well as chronic pain and loss of function in the long term.

2. Failure rates for ACL repair appear to be significantly higher than those for ACL reconstruction in people of all ages.

Current studies suggest that modern ACL repair techniques have a failure rate that may be five to ten times higher than that of ACL reconstruction^1,2,3. One major recent study in a prominent sports medicine journal found that arthroscopic ACL repair has unacceptable outcomes in young athletes, with short-term failure rates of close to 50%².

It has been suggested that ACL repair may be appropriate for older adults who have a type of ACL tear called a proximal avulsion and who do not participate in “cutting and pivoting” sports such as basketball, volleyball, and soccer. For these patients, failure rates in the short term appear to be much higher than ACL reconstruction in this age group^1,2,3.

3. There is still much we don’t know about ACL repair.

There has been no scientific evidence that shows a difference in postoperative pain between ACL repair and reconstruction. Rehabilitation and return-to-play protocols for ACL repair have not yet been established. Proper guidelines for rehabilitation and return to sports are essential to keep people safe from re-injury.
 

Andrew D. Pearle, MD

Chief, HSS Sports Medicine Institute

Bryan T. Kelly, MD

HSS Surgeon-in-Chief and Medical Director

Answorth A. Allen, MD

David W. Altchek, MD

Struan H. Coleman, MD, PhD

Frank A. Cordasco, MD, MS

David M. Dines, MD

Joshua S. Dines, MD

Stephen Fealy, MD

Andreas H. Gomoll, MD

Lawrence V. Gulotta, MD

Jo A. Hannafin, MD, PhD

Anne M. Kelly, MD

John D. MacGillivray, MD

Robert G. Marx, MD, MSc, FRCSC

Michael J. Maynard, MD

Moira M. McCarthy, MD

Danyal H. Nawabi, MD, FRCS

Stephen J. O’Brien, MD, MBA

Anil S. Ranawat, MD

Scott A. Rodeo, MD

Howard Anthony Rose, MD

Beth E. Shubin Stein, MD

Sabrina M. Strickland, MD

Karen M. Sutton, MD

Samuel A. Taylor, MD

Russell F. Warren, MD

Thomas L. Wickiewicz, MD

Riley J. Williams III, MD

References

1. Jonkergouw A, van der List J, DiFelice G. Arthroscopic primary repair of proximal ACL tears: outcomes of the first 56 consecutive patients and the role of additional internal bracing. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2019 Jan;27(1):21-28.

2. Gagliardi AG, Carry PM, Parikh HB, Traver JL, Howell DR, Albright JC. ACL repair with suture ligament augmentation is associated with a high failure rate among adolescent patients. Am J Sports Med. 2019 Mar;47(3):560-566.

3. Wright RW et al. Risk of tearing the intact ACL in the contralateral knee and rupturing the ACL graft during the first 2 years after ACLR: A prospective MOON cohort study. Am J Sports Med. 2007 Jul;35(7):1131-4.

For more information visit https://www.hss.edu/condition-list_torn-acl.asp.

A ruptured quadriceps is a relatively rare injury for NBA players. People who suffer the injury are often immobilized for the first month, outfitted in a brace for two months and can perform light on-court activities in about six months, said Anil S. Ranawat, MD, hip and knee surgeon at HSS.

"Whenever you have a tendon repair, you're always marrying two opposing concepts," Dr. Ranawat said. "One is healing, which you want to immobilize for. Two is motion, which is when you want to start moving. So, usually around the one-month mark is the kind of sweet spot where enough healing has taken place, and now you can start moving the knee."

Read the full article at BleacherReport.com.

This year, HSS will co-sponsor the 17th Winter Meeting of the Ranawat Orthopaedic Conference (ROC) "Advances & Techniques in Joint Replacement Surgery & Arthroscopy".

The three-day annual conference will include sports- and arthroplasty-focused educational sessions with topics such as recent developments in robotic surgery, computerized navigation, cementless total knee replacement, and unicondylar knee replacement.

"HSS is proud to co-sponsor the Ranawat Orthopaedic Conference, an impactful educational conference that advances the field of musculoskeletal medicine through knowledge-sharing and education," said Laura Robbins, DSW, senior vice president, HSS Education Institute.

The conference is presented by HSS and the Ranawat Orthopaedic Center in New York, NY, and is co-directed by HSS hip and knee surgeons, Chitranjan S. Ranawat, MD, and Amar S. Ranawat, MD; and HSS sports medicine surgeon, Anil S. Ranawat, MD.

This year’s conference will include presentations and clinical case discussions by Drs. Anil and Amar Ranawat, HSS hip and knee surgeon, Jose A. Rodriguez, MD; HSS sports medicine surgeon, Joshua S. Dines, MD; and HSS anesthesiologist David H. Kim, MD.

The conference will take place on February 21-23, 2019 at Hotel Pullman, Aerocity in New Delhi, India and will also be live streamed.

For the past 50 years, Dr. Chitranjan S. Ranawat has performed hip and knee replacements at HSS, dedicating his professional life to the education and training of residents, fellows, and surgeons. He developed the first total knee replacement prosthesis in the early 1970s and has played an integral role in solidifying HSS as an innovator of joint replacements. In 2016, HSS presented Dr. Ranawat with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

"The Ranawats are honored and excited to continue our family’s tradition of teaching surgical education in the latest trends and techniques in arthroplasty and sports medicine in India," said Dr. Anil Ranawat. "We now have a partner in HSS to continue our tradition so we can advance as global leaders in surgical education. As Indian-Americans it gives us great pride to see India Rising."

The Ranawat Orthopaedic Research Foundation has supported orthopaedic research and education in the United States and Asia. With Dr. Ranawat as chairman, the foundation collaborates with pioneers around the world to promote the goal of training orthopaedic surgeons in joint reconstruction surgery and delivering high-value care to patients.

The multicenter Calypso Study will assess the safety and effectiveness of Moximed’s implantable shock absorber for the knee.  Moximed is a medical device manufacturer based in Fremont, California and is the sponsor of the study.   

The trial will enroll 80 men and women with medial knee OA, a painful, debilitating condition in which the cartilage barrier separating the ends of the femur and tibia deteriorates, allowing the two bones to rub against each other. Medial knee osteoarthritis can result from a variety of factors, including advanced age, the loss of estrogen after menopause for women, wear-and-tear from physical activity or obesity, and previous trauma to the joint, such as a torn ligament or meniscus. According to the CDC, an estimated 1 in 4 Americans suffer from some form of OA, and half are under the age of 65. 

Knee replacement surgery is an option for patients with medial knee osteoarthritis, but the procedure is relatively invasive and requires protracted recovery and rehabilitation. As a result, many patients opt for conservative care, which can entail the use of analgesics for pain, physical therapy and special insoles for shoes to help rebalance the affected joint—none of which prevent arthritis from progressing. 

"Many patients were injured when they were young, for example with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscal tears, and these unfortunately lead to osteoarthritis in approximately 50% of them by 10 years after injury," said Andreas Gomoll, MD, sports medicine surgeon at HSS. "Since the original injury happens when patients are in their teens or 20s, they might have established osteoarthritis in their 30s and 40s, when knee replacement is not a great option since it has a high likelihood of wearing out during their lifetime and will have to be revised. Not surprisingly, doing a revision replacement is not as good as a primary replacement, and therefore we are looking for ways to delay these types of more invasive procedures for as long as possible. For some, conservative care helps, but not for everyone. That's where a device like the Calypso could fit in. If patients can buy years of improved pain and function, then knee replacement surgery can start later, requiring fewer possible revisions in the patient's lifetime. This device design is all about preserving options, since it can be removed with little-to-no permanent changes to the knee joint structure. Therefore, patients remain candidates for any other potential treatments that might be developed in the future."

The Calypso Study investigational device consists of a cylindrical shock absorber that is implanted along the side of the knee and reduces the amount of weight supported by the knee. 

"Nobody can wear a brace all the time for any length of time, and that's the advantage of an implantable device like Calypso," Dr. Gomoll said. "There is no other device like it and it offers a new approach for these patients."

"We are constantly pushing the biological envelope to preserve joints as long as we can," said Anil Ranawat, MD, sports medicine and knee joint preservation surgeon at HSS. "When a patient is young and has OA, it’s hard to know what the best procedure is. Injection therapy can relieve pain, but treatment benefit is only short term. More invasive surgical procedures, though effective in treating osteoarthritis, can inhibit treatment options down the road for young, active patients. The Calypso implant’s unique design maintains the anatomical structure of the knee while also treating the primary pain generator of OA. Our ultimate goal is to preserve motion and function in our patients."

The implantation surgery takes approximately one hour and can be performed on an outpatient basis, meaning patients can go home the same day. Rehabilitation is easier than for other knee surgeries, Dr. Gomoll noted.

The study will measure improvement over 24 months in pain and function based on a validated measure called the Western Ontario and McMasters University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). The researchers also will track device safety and monitor the integrity of the implant over time using x-ray imaging. 

To participate in the study, patients must be between the ages of 25 and 65 and have had osteoarthritis pain on the inner side of the knee that has persisted for at least six months after trying non-surgical treatments. 

Patients are not eligible for the study if they have osteoarthritis in both sides of the same knee; if they have problems with the ligaments in their affected joint; if they have known allergies to certain metals; if they have been diagnosed with conditions that afflict the skeleton, such as rheumatoid arthritis and Paget’s disease; among other considerations.   

Two sports medicine surgeons at HSS are participating in the study: Andreas Gomoll, MD, and Anil Ranawat, MD.  

According to the article, virtual reality is emerging as a high-tech solution to train medical residents.

Dr. Bostrom said that VR simulations could prove particularly useful in many procedure-based areas of medicine, such as anesthesia, to introduce new physicians to the steps needed to complete a task.

"Certain industries such as aviation have been doing simulation for many decades. It's been relatively late in coming into medicine and surgery," Dr. Bostrom added.

The article reported that HSS residents have been operating on cadavers and artificial bones for practice for years.  

"Cadavers are still the gold standard of how to teach young surgeons," noted Dr. Ranawat.

"Right now [VR] is just another instrument or tool to give younger residents—not older residents because older residents are going to use more cadaver and live surgery—the basic surgical skill sets, such as understanding anatomy, tactile feel and understanding the steps of the procedure," explained Dr. Ranawat.

"The fact that I can come in here and it will walk me through it step by step with the instrumentation, it's positive," said Dr. Elbuluk, a first-year resident, who is able to use this tool to get experience before going into the operating room.

Older residents, such as Dr. Kahlenberg, a fourth-year resident, noted that VR tools do not yet have the capability to vary joints such as the knee.  

"Every human knee is a little bit different, and there's variability in the soft tissues and the feel of the soft tissue," said Dr. Kahlenberg. "I think it has potential to be helpful in the future, but it has a long way to go before it becomes a realistic training tool."

Crain's also reported on another simulator tool in the Bioskills lab that helps train residents on arthroscopy specifically.

Read the full article at Crainsnewyork.com. This also appeared in the August 20, 2018 print issue as well as Crain's Health Pulse and Crain's Morning 10.

Additional Coverage: ModernHealthcare.com 

The two-day annual symposium will provide clinicians with guidance on how to care for athletes of all levels. Topics to include: the athlete’s elbow, shoulder instability, the rotational athlete, multiligament knee, concussion management, the female athlete, the athlete’s hip, tendonopathy, and the young athlete’s knee.

The symposium is provided by HSS Office of Continuing Medical Education, Department of Rehabilitation and HSS Sports Medicine, and is co-directed by HSS sports medicine surgeon, Anil S. Ranawat, MD, and HSS physical therapist and certified athletic trainer John Cavanaugh, PT, MEd, ATC, SCS.

"At HSS, we treat over 400 elite athletes a year from over 80 professional teams and over 100 Division 1 programs," said Cavanaugh. "We have a front seat to all of the unique injuries that occur as well as the cutting-edge research performed in our labs. This symposium is a way for us to share our expertise with medical professionals who may be in an outpatient setting and not have the same exposure."

The symposium will take place on March 23-24, 2018 at the Richard L. Menschel Education Center at HSS (535 East 70th Street, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10021) and will also be live streamed online.

Consisting of 3 main sessions, 4 concurrent sessions, 3 mini courses, 8 concurrent workshops, and a new lunch & learn option, this year’s symposium includes a keynote address from Gilles Walch, MD, acclaimed shoulder surgeon from Hopital Privé Jean Mermoz in France, on his surgical approach to shoulder instability.

There will also be a live surgery of an anterior shoulder stabilization performed by Joshua S. Dines, MD, sports medicine surgeon at HSS, as well as two optional instructional courses.

The session The Female Athlete will cover gender differences in sports medicine, graft choice for ACL reconstruction, stress fractures, training considerations and sports psychology. The session is moderated by Lisa R. Callahan, MD, primary care sports medicine physician at HSS. Presentations will be made by members of the Women’s Sports Medicine Center:

• Ellen Casey, MD
• Karen M. Sutton, MD
• Marci A. Goolsby, MD
• Polly de Mille, RN, MA, RCEP, CSCS, USAT
• Deborah N. Roche, PhD

HSS serves as the official hospital and team physicians and rehabilitation specialists for over 20 professional and collegiate teams and organizations and is one of only three hospitals in the nation appointed a FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence.

CONTACTS:

Sherry Randolph / Monique Irons / Tracy Hickenbottom

Hospital for Special Surgery

mediarelations@hss.edu

212-606-1197