BACKGROUND: Many hyaluronic acid (HA)-based anti-adhesive agents have been commercialized for clinical use in the pharmaceutical market. But their efficacy in arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs remains elusive. To determine their efficacy, we performed a comparative analysis of the effects of two hyaluronate/carboxymethylcellulose (CMC)-based anti-adhesive agents, Protescal and Guardix. METHODS: We recruited a total of 256 patients who had received an arthroscopic rotator cuff repair at our hospital between January 2014 and March 2015. Among them, 96 patients fulfilled the study's selection criteria and were enrolled as the final population sample. Thirty patients who had received a postoperative injection of Protescal were allocated into Group A. Another 30 patients who had received a postoperative injection of Guardix were allocated into Group B. As controls, 36 patients who did not receive any injection were allocated into Group C. The patients included in this study were aged between 19 and 75 years. For the clinical assessment, we measured the following clinical parameters—the visual analogue scale for pain (PVAS), the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, and the constant score, as well as passive range of motions (ROMs)—at three time-points (preoperatively, 2-month postoperatively, and 6-month postoperatively). RESULTS: We found that Group A compared to Group B tended to show a swifter recovery in passive anterior elevation and in internal rotation by the 2-month postoperative follow-up, but the differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the effects of HA/CMC-based injections were minimal after arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs.
Elbow ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hyaluronic Acid ; Patient Selection ; Retrospective Studies* ; Rotator Cuff* ; Shoulder ; Surgeons

Surgical revascularization is very effective for the relief of chest pain, improvement of exercise tolerance and ventricular performance in certain ischemic heart diseases. Bypass graft angiography and native coronary angiography after coronary artery bypass graft(CABG) were required for the evaluation of graft patency, progression of the native coronary artery disease and to predict the prognosis of the patients after CABG. The cases included in this study involved 15 patients who underwent selective bypass graft angiography among 102 CABG cases. Thirty eight sites were bypassed by saphenous vein and two sites by internal mammary artery. The results were as follows: 1) The overall patency rate of the saphenous vein bypass graft was 76.3% and the two sites of the internal mammary artery bypass graft were both patent. 2) The patency rate of direct anastomosis was 86.2% and of sequential anastomosis, 44.4%. 3) In eight patients who underwent native coronary angiography, five patients showed progression of grafted coronary artery disease. Among them, two patients had accompanying progression of coronary artery disease in non-grafted vessels. 4) Follow up treadmill test performed in six patients showed improvement of exercise tolerance in all patients. 5) There was some increase in the ejection fraction of the left ventricle after CABG in six patients who received follow up left ventriculography.
Angiography* ; Chest Pain ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Artery Bypass* ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels* ; Exercise Test ; Exercise Tolerance ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Mammary Arteries ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Prognosis ; Saphenous Vein ; Transplants*

BACKGROUND: Many hyaluronic acid (HA)-based anti-adhesive agents have been commercialized for clinical use in the pharmaceutical market. But their efficacy in arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs remains elusive. To determine their efficacy, we performed a comparative analysis of the effects of two hyaluronate/carboxymethylcellulose (CMC)-based anti-adhesive agents, Protescal and Guardix. METHODS: We recruited a total of 256 patients who had received an arthroscopic rotator cuff repair at our hospital between January 2014 and March 2015. Among them, 96 patients fulfilled the study's selection criteria and were enrolled as the final population sample. Thirty patients who had received a postoperative injection of Protescal were allocated into Group A. Another 30 patients who had received a postoperative injection of Guardix were allocated into Group B. As controls, 36 patients who did not receive any injection were allocated into Group C. The patients included in this study were aged between 19 and 75 years. For the clinical assessment, we measured the following clinical parameters—the visual analogue scale for pain (PVAS), the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, and the constant score, as well as passive range of motions (ROMs)—at three time-points (preoperatively, 2-month postoperatively, and 6-month postoperatively). RESULTS: We found that Group A compared to Group B tended to show a swifter recovery in passive anterior elevation and in internal rotation by the 2-month postoperative follow-up, but the differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the effects of HA/CMC-based injections were minimal after arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs.
Elbow ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hyaluronic Acid ; Patient Selection ; Retrospective Studies ; Rotator Cuff ; Shoulder ; Surgeons