Lengthening Nails for Distraction Osteogenesis: A Review of Current Practice and Presentation of Extended Indications.

Purpose: Circular frames have been the gold standard of treatment for complex deformity corrections and bone loss. However, despite the success of frames, patient satisfaction has been low, and complications are frequent. Most recently, lengthening nails have been used to correct leg length discrepancies.

Factors that influence medical student learning in the operating room.

The operating room (OR) is a dynamic, high-pressure clinical setting that offers a unique workplace-based learning environment for students. We undertook a narrative synthesis of the literature to identify factors that influence medical student learning in the OR, and we recommend educational strategies that maximize "theater-based learning". Key words were searched across three databases and Eligible studies included original articles published after 1997 presenting empirical research on factors that influence medical students learning in the OR.

Learning curves in surgery: variables, analysis and applications.

Learning curves graphically represent the relationship between learning effort and learning outcome. Learning curves are increasingly used in research, the design of randomised controlled trials, the assessment of competency, healthcare education and training programme design. In this review we have outlined the principles behind plotting learning curves, described the common methods used to analyse learning curves, how to interpret learning curves, the multitude of learning models, their applications and potential pitfalls, and the importance of a mathematically rigorous approach to learning curve analytics.

Bone cement: perioperative issues, orthopaedic applications and future developments.

Bone cement has been increasingly used in orthopaedic surgery over the last 50 years. Since Sir John Charnley pioneered the use of polymethylmethacrylate cement in total hip replacements, there have been developments in cementing techniques and an expansion in the number of orthopaedic procedures that use cement. This review covers the perioperative issues surrounding bone cement including storage, cementing techniques and complications.