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Background: Maxillofacial injuries account for an estimated 11% of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sport-related injuries and occur at a rate of 0.2-1.5 injuries per 1000 athletic events/exposures. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to report the epidemiology, treatment, and outcomes of maxillofacial injuries in NCAA Division I athletes participating in 13 sports. It was hypothesized that the rate of maxillofacial injuries would be greater than previously reported in national registry studies. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: A single-institution registry was utilized to retrieve the maxillofacial injuries and surgical procedures recorded over 4 athletic seasons, for the years 2015 through 2019, across 13 NCAA Division I sports. The incidence of injuries per sport was reported as the number per 1000 athlete-exposure (AE) hours. The time lost from participation and time to complete injury resolution per sport were reported as the mean and range. Results: A total of 193 maxillofacial injuries occurred over 4 seasons. The overall incidence of maxillofacial injuries was 2.06 injuries per 1000 AE hours. The injury incidence for male and female athletes was 1.92 and 2.43 injuries per 1000 AE hours, respectively. Men's basketball (8.30 injuries per 1000 AE hours) and men's water polo (8.15 injuries per 1000 AE hours) had the highest rates of all sports. Overall, 20 athletes (10.4%) required surgery. The mean time to resolution across all sports was 33.3 days (range, 0-336 days) per injury. The mean time lost across all sports was 17.1 days (range, 0-336 days) per injury. Conclusion: At a single NCAA Division I institution, maxillofacial injuries occurred at a higher rate than previously thought and could lead to significant time lost from sport participation. Basketball players were at the highest risk of this injury. Across all sports, male athletes took longer to return to sport after a maxillofacial injury compared to female athletes, but the latter required more time to fully recover. Maxillofacial injuries may require surgical treatment, and their prevention is critical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction has been successfully utilized to treat symptomatic UCL insufficiency in overhead athletes. Despite the overall success of the procedure, attempts have been made to improve upon the original technique with the goal of hastening return to sport. Most recently, there has been interest in repairing or reconstructing the native ligament with internal brace (IB) augmentation. Biomechanical cadaveric studies assessing UCL repair with IB augmentation have attempted to evaluate the efficacy of this treatment; however, the literature is seemingly divided on its benefit. Preliminary clinical studies suggest internal bracing may allow a faster return to sport than conventional techniques. The purpose of this review was to provide an analysis of the current evidence on IB augmentation in UCL repair of the elbow as it pertains to biomechanical advantages/disadvantages, reported surgical techniques, and clinical outcomes in comparison with traditional UCL reconstruction techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to systematically review the outcomes of arthroscopic management of meniscal cysts and to compare the results across the reported surgical techniques. Methods: Following the PRISMA methodology, 3 databases (PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science) were searched from inception to June 2021 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies reporting outcomes on patients with meniscal cysts who underwent arthroscopic surgery. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used to evaluate the study quality. Results: Eighteen studies examining 753 patients (761 meniscal cysts; 92.5% in the lateral meniscus) were included. Overall, 486/736 (66.0%) patients underwent purely arthroscopic decompression, 174/736 (23.6%) received arthroscopic excision, 58/736 (7.9%) received arthroscopy assisted percutaneous drainage, and 18/736 (2.4%) received a combined procedure. The recurrence rate for meniscal cysts was 7.1% across all arthroscopic procedures; 8.3%, 3.4%, and 0% for arthroscopic decompression, arthroscopic excision, and arthroscopy assisted percutaneous drainage, respectively. A total of 79.3% of patients returned to the same level of sport and 85.7% had resolution or minimal knee symptoms after arthroscopic surgery for meniscal cysts. Patient perception of surgical outcomes after any type of arthroscopic surgery for meniscal cysts was reported by 5 studies, with 189/203 (93.1%) reporting satisfaction with their surgical procedure. Conclusion: Based on current evidence, arthroscopic management of meniscal cysts yields satisfactory patient outcomes, low cyst recurrence rates and high return to sport rates regardless of the surgical technique. Rates of cyst recurrence were relatively higher with arthroscopic decompression versus excision and percutaneous drainage; however, prospective studies using modern surgical techniques are necessary to better evaluate the surgical outcomes and to compare those with nonoperative modalities, given that a significant proportion of the included articles in this review were relatively outdated. Level of Evidence: Systematic review of level II and IV studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]